Party of free democrats

Party of Free Democrats ( Ukrainian Party of Vilnich Democrats ) - Ukrainian political party, successor to the party "Yabloko" ( Ukrainian. Yabluko ).

The Yabloko party was registered on November 2, 1999 (certificate of registration No. 1247). Viktor Chaika was elected chairman of the party, Mikhail Brodsky was appointed first deputy. Since 2002 - party chairman Mikhail Brodsky, first deputy Yuri Sakhno. In June 11, 2007 M. Brodsky was replaced by the mayor of Cherkassy, Sergei Odarych . At the moment, the chairman of the party is Alexander Zyglov.

In the 2002 parliamentary elections , Yabloko received 1.15% of the vote.

In the 2004 presidential election , Yabloko supported Viktor Yushchenko 's candidacy.

On March 19, 2005, the Yabloko party decided to merge with the Batkivshchyna party, but the merger never ended.

In the 2006 parliamentary elections , Yabloko members passed into parliament on BYT lists. In December 2006, at the Yabloko congress, it was decided to resume party activity.

In March 2007, at the suggestion of Mikhail Brodsky, Yabloko was renamed the Party of Free Democrats. April 4, 2007 in the Verkhovna Rada was created inter-factional association "Vіlny Democrats", which included five deputies. The union members declared themselves supporters of parliamentary democracy and criticized the illegal actions of both the ruling Party of Regions and the opposition - BYuT and Our Ukraine .

In the early parliamentary elections of 2007, the party participated on its own. Nikolai Melnichenko , a former major of the State Security Service, the organizer of the scandalous revelations of the President of Ukraine Leonid Kuchma (the " Melnichenko film ") was invited to the "five" of the party’s electoral list. As a result, the Free Democrats Party took 12th place among parties and blocs, receiving 50,910 votes (0.21%).

A white crow was chosen as the party’s symbol, which seems to be an attempt to emphasize its opposition to all leading political forces.