Editing Petro Symonenko (section)

==Biography==
[[File:ДТУМ4.jpg|thumb|left|Symonenko (seated fourth from left, between [[Volodymyr Biletskyy]] and [[Dmytro Pavlychko]]) at the meeting of the [[Taras Shevchenko]] Fellowship of Ukrainian Language in [[Donetsk]], 28 October 1989]]
[[File:Vladimir Putin 18 March 2002-3.jpg|thumb|Symonenko at the [[Kremlin]] in 2002 with [[Vladimir Putin]]]]

Symonenko was born in [[Donetsk|Stalino]] (now Donetsk). He became a member of the [[Communist Party of the Soviet Union]] in 1978, and worked as a [[apparatchik|party functionary]] in the 1980s. He has been the First Secretary of the Central Committee of the [[Communist Party of Ukraine]] since 1993. He is also the chairman of the Communist Party Faction in the [[Verkhovna Rada]] (Ukraine's Parliament).<ref name=Opening>[http://portal.rada.gov.ua/rada/control/en/publish/article/info_left?art_id=102494&cat_id=102006 "Opening of the First Session of The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine of the 6th Convocation"], Verkhovna Rada website, 23 November 2007.</ref>

Symonenko has been a Ukrainian delegate to the Parliamentary Assembly of the [[Council of Europe]]. From 1994 to 1996 he was a member of the Ukrainian parliament's Constitution Commission. He was a candidate in the [[1999 Ukrainian presidential election]], receiving 22.24% of the votes in the first round and taking second place. In the second round he won 37.8% of the votes, losing to [[Leonid Kuchma]]. His election program had classic Communist content.{{Clarify|reason=what is "classic communist content"?|date=June 2022}}

In late 2002, [[Viktor Yushchenko]] ([[Our Ukraine (political party)|Our Ukraine]]), [[Oleksandr Moroz]] ([[Socialist Party of Ukraine]]), [[Yulia Tymoshenko]] ([[Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc]]), and Symonenko issued a joint statement concerning "the beginning of a state revolution in Ukraine". His party left the alliance, as Symonenko was against a single candidate from the alliance in the [[2004 Ukrainian presidential election]]; the other three parties remained allies,<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=Wp7VKL4p7kQC&pg=PA117 Understanding Ukrainian Politics: Power, Politics, and Institutional Design] by [[Paul D'Anieri]], [[M.E. Sharpe]], 2006, {{ISBN|978-0-7656-1811-5}}, page 117</ref> at least until July 2006.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/5169068.stm Ukraine coalition born in chaos], [[BBC News]] (July 11, 2006)</ref>

Symonenko's support sharply declined at the time of the 2004 presidential election. He received 5% of the votes and came in fourth place, unable to get into the controversial runoff which caused the [[Orange Revolution]]. Symonenko was re-elected to the Verkhovna Rada in the [[2007 Ukrainian parliamentary election]].<ref name="Prav">[http://www.pravda.com.ua/en/news/2007/11/5/9329.htm "The Makeup of the New Verkhovna Rada"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080317182108/http://www.pravda.com.ua/en/news/2007/11/5/9329.htm |date=2008-03-17 }}, ''Ukrayinska Pravda'', November 5, 2007.</ref> At the opening of the new parliament's first session on 23 November 2007, he was re-elected as chairman of the Communist Party faction.<ref name="Opening" />

During the [[2010 Ukrainian presidential election]], Symonenko was the candidate of the [[Bloc of Left and Center-left Forces]],<ref name="BLCSfc">[http://www.interfax.com.ua/eng/main/21363/ Bloc of left and center-left forces to nominate CPU Leader for Ukraine's president], [[Interfax-Ukraine]] (October 3, 2009)</ref><ref>[http://www.interfax.com.ua/eng/main/21763/ Spravedlyvist Party backs Communist leader as single candidate from left political forces at president election], [[Interfax-Ukraine]] (October 10, 2009)</ref><ref>{{in lang|uk}} [http://ppsls.org.ua/ukr/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=486&Itemid=21 Союз Лівих Сил підтримав кандидатуру Петра Симоненко]{{dead link|date=December 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, [[Union of Leftists]] (October 16, 2009)</ref><ref>{{in lang|uk}} [http://photo.unian.net/ukr/themes/14983 Події за темами: XXII з’їзд Соціал-демократичної партії України(о)], [[UNIAN]] (October 17, 2009)</ref><ref>[http://www.kyivpost.com/nation/50859 Social-Democratic Party supports Symonenko as single candidate for president post from left political forces], [[Kyiv Post]] (October 17, 2009)</ref> receiving 3.54% of the votes.<ref>{{in lang|uk}} [http://gazeta.ua/index.php?id=324402 ЦВК оприлюднила офіційні результати 1-го туру виборів], Gazeta.ua (January 25, 2010)</ref> In [[2012 Ukrainian parliamentary election]], he was re-elected into the Verkhovna Rada.<ref name="electedintoVRUK111112">{{in lang|uk}} [http://www.pravda.com.ua/articles/2012/11/11/6977259/ Список депутатів нової Верховної Ради], [[Ukrayinska Pravda]] (11 November 2012)</ref> In the [[2014 Ukrainian presidential election]], he initially ran as a candidate of his party on a [[federalization]]-platform that should have eventually led to a "[[parliamentary system]] without the institution of the presidency at all".<ref name="PSep6414">[http://en.interfax.com.ua/news/press-conference/199719.html Leader of Communist party stands for step-by-step transition to federation followed by elimination of post of president], [[Interfax-Ukraine]] (8 April 2014)</ref> He withdrew from the race on 16 May.<ref name="CommunistoutPresE2014">[http://www.kyivpost.com/content/ukraine/communist-leader-symonenko-withdraws-his-candidacy-from-presidential-race-348211.html Communist leader Symonenko withdraws his candidacy from presidential race], [[Kyiv Post]] (16 May 2014)</ref> He stated he withdrew "to save Ukraine from arbitrariness, which takes place today", and said about the elections itself "in our opinion they will be illegitimate".<ref name="CommunistoutPresE2014" /> Later the same day, Symonenko's car was attacked by a mob with baseball bats and Molotov cocktails as he left a TV interview. He was uninjured in the incident. In the 2014 presidential election, he received 1.51% of the vote.<ref name="CEC election results">{{cite web |url=http://www.nrcu.gov.ua/en/148/566632/ |title=Poroshenko wins presidential election with 54.7% of vote – CEC |publisher=[[Radio Ukraine International]] |date=29 May 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140529212731/http://nrcu.gov.ua/en/148/566632/ |archive-date=29 May 2014 }}<br />{{in lang|ru}} [http://telegraf.com.ua/ukraina/politika/1300294-rezultatyi-vyiborov-prezidenta-ukrainyi-2014-tsik-obrabotala-51-99.html Results election of Ukrainian president], Телеграф (29 May 2014)</ref>

The [[Central Election Commission of Ukraine]] did not register his candidacy for the [[2019 Ukrainian presidential election]] due to the fact that the statute, name, and symbolism of the Communist Party of Ukraine did not comply with 2015 decommunization laws.<ref name="7206166UPCECb" /> In late May 2021, TV channel [[112 Ukraine]] received a fine of ₴100,000 for broadcasting Symonenko's claim that the [[War in Donbas (2014–2022)|war in Donbas]] was "a [[civil war]]" initiated by "[[Ukrainian nationalists]] and [[neo-fascists]] supported by the United States."<ref>{{in lang|uk}} [https://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2021/05/27/7295120/ Natsrada fined "112 Ukraine", "NASH" and NEWSONE for hate speech and Azarov on air], [[Ukrayinska Pravda]] (27 May 2021)</ref>

During the [[2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine]], Simonenko has taken a pro-Russian stance.<ref name="Obozrevatel">{{in lang|ru}} [https://www.obozrevatel.com/politics-news/a-kuda-propal-petr-simonenko-okkupantyi-pomogli-emu-vyiehat.htm А куда пропал Петр Симоненко? Оккупанты помогли ему выехать], [[Obozrevatel]] (12 May 2022)</ref> In March 2022, as reported by ''[[Obozrevatel]]'', he managed to escape from [[Kyiv]] to [[Belarus]] during the [[Kyiv offensive (2022)|Kyiv offensive]] with the assistance of Russian forces.<ref name="Obozrevatel" /> In October 2022, Symonenko took part in the [[International Meeting of Communist and Workers' Parties]] in [[Havana]], [[Cuba]]. During the speech, he blamed the United States and the United Kingdom for the war, and said they wanted to "use Ukraine against Russia and [[Taiwan]] against [[China]]".<ref name="Symonenko Cuba">{{cite web |url=http://www.rifondazione.it/esteri/index.php/2022/11/16/ucraina-parla-il-segretario-del-pc-dellucraina/ |title=Ucraina: parla il Segretario del PC dell'Ucraina |publisher=[[Communist Refoundation Party]] |language=it |date=16 November 2022 |access-date=24 July 2023 }}</ref>

In August 2023, the Security Service of Ukraine opened an investigation against Symonenko on the charges of [[sedition]] and [[treason]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Roschina |first=Olena |date=11 August 2023 |title=Ukraine's Security Service serves leader of banned Communist party with notice of suspicion and describes his escape to Russia |url=https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2023/08/11/7415159/ |access-date= |website=[[Ukrainska Pravda]] |language=en}}</ref> The investigation established that during the [[Russian occupation of Kyiv Oblast]] of the [[2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine]] he had fled to [[Russia]] accompanied by [[Russian Special Forces]].<ref name="chesnopoliticianSymonenko"/> In Russia Symonenko was appointed  deputy chairman of the [[Union of Communist Parties – Communist Party of the Soviet Union]].<ref name="chesnopoliticianSymonenko">{{in lang|uk}} [https://www.chesno.org/politician/355/ Biography of Petro Symonenko], [[Civil movement "Chesno"]]</ref>

Symonenko assets were blocked and he was stripped of his Ukrainian state awards on 19 January 2025 by a decree of [[Ukrainian President]] [[Volodymyr Zelenskyy]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Zelenskyy signed a decree on new sanctions of the National Security and Defense Council: in the "black list" Boyko, Shufrich and Murayev|url=https://lb.ua/news/2025/01/19/656047_zelenskiy_pidpisav_ukaz_pro_novi.html|work=[[LB.ua]]|date=19 January 2025|access-date=19 January 2025|language=Ukrainian}}<br>{{cite news |title=Zelensky enacts NSDC decision on sanctions|url=https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-polytics/3950293-zelensky-enacts-nsdc-decision-on-sanctions-against-russian-propagandists.html|work=[[Ukrinform]]|date=19 January 2025|access-date=19 January 2025|language=English}}</ref>