Viktor Medvedchuk is a politician, People’s Deputy of Ukraine of the II-IV and IX convocations, one of the leaders of the banned party “Opposition Platform – For Life”, First Deputy Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada (2000 – 2001), Head of the Presidential Administration of Ukraine (2002-2005).
Place of Birth, Education
He was born on August 7, 1954 in the village of Poshana in the Abansky district of the Krasnoyarsk Territory, Russian Federation (Russia).
In 1978, he completed his studies at the Faculty of Law of Taras Shevchenko State University of Kyiv.
Career
In 1972, he worked as a freight forwarder at the Kyiv Railway Post Office.
From 1978 to 1989 he was a lawyer at the Kyiv City Bar Association. In the period from 1989 to 1991, he headed a legal consultation in the Shevchenkivskyi district of Kyiv.
From 1990 to 1997 he headed the Union of Advocates of Ukraine, and in 1990-1991 he was a member of the board of the Union of Advocates of the Soviet Union as a representative of Ukraine.
In 1994-1999, he was a member of the Coordination Committee on Combating Corruption and Organized Crime under the President of Ukraine. In the same year, he headed the High Qualification Commission of the Bar of Ukraine.
In the period from 1995 to 2000, he was a member of the Council of Employers and Commodity Producers under the President of Ukraine. From 1996 to 2000, he was an adviser to the President of Ukraine Leonid Kuchma on tax policy.
In 1998-2000, he served as Deputy Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Oleksandr Tkachenko, and in 2000-2001 he was the First Deputy Chairman of the Parliament of Ivan Plyushch.
From June 2002 to January 2005, he headed the administration of the President of Ukraine Leonid Kuchma.
In 2002, he headed the Commission of State Awards and Heraldry, and also became a member of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine (NSDC). The following year, he became the chairman of the Coordination Council for Civil Service under the President of Ukraine.
In 2004, he headed the Supervisory Board of the National Academy of Public Administration under the President of Ukraine. Since 2008, he headed the supervisory board of the public organization “Center for the Rule of Law”.
During his career, he was repeatedly a member of the High Council of Justice.
Political Activities
He was first elected to the Verkhovna Rada in 1997, and was subsequently re-elected in 1998, 2002 and 2019. In 1998-2000, he served as Deputy Chairman of the Parliament, and until 2001 he was the First Deputy Chairman.
From 1998 to 2007, he headed the Social Democratic Party of Ukraine. In 2002, he was appointed head of the Presidential Administration of Ukraine, remaining in this position until 2005.
In 2012, he became the head of the public organization (NGO) “Ukrainian Choice”, which advocated closer relations with Russia and granting Russian the status of the second state language.
Since 2014, he has participated in negotiations on the settlement of the situation in eastern Ukraine. In the same year, the United States of America (USA) imposed sanctions against him, including him in the list of persons whose activities threaten the peace, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine.
In 2018, he joined the “For Life” party, which at that time was headed by Vadym Rabinovych. A few months later, he became the head of the political force.
In the spring of 2019, he headed the political council of the Opposition Platform – For Life and ran in the parliamentary elections.
From 2018 to 2022, he was considered the unofficial owner of several Ukrainian media outlets, including the TV channels “112 Ukraine”, NewsOne, ZIK, “First Independent” and UkrLive. All these channels were blocked after the introduction of sanctions by the National Security and Defense Council.
Criminal cases and an attempt to escape from Ukraine
In February 2021, sanctions were applied directly against him and his wife due to suspicion of Oksana Marchenko of financing terrorist activities. Subsequently, he was accused of high treason, violation of the rules of war and an attempt to plunder national resources in Crimea.
A few months after the first suspicion, he was charged with additional charges of treason and facilitating the activities of terrorist groups. Among other things, he was suspected of creating artificial obstacles to the supply of coal from South Africa, which affected Ukraine’s energy security.
Since May 2021, he has been under house arrest, but on February 27, 2022, after the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion, it became known about his escape. In April, he was detained while trying to leave the territory of Ukraine and taken under arrest.
In the fall of the same year, he was handed over to Russia as part of a prisoner exchange. After that, he created the public organization “Druga Ukraina” in Russia.
Marital Status
He is married to former TV presenter Oksana Marchenko. The couple has a daughter, Daria, whose godfather is dictator Vladimir Putin, and the godmother is Svetlana Medvedeva, the wife of Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of Russia Dmitry Medvedev.
In particular, Medvedchuk has a daughter, Iryna, from a previous marriage.
