Leonid Kravchuk

Leonid Makarovych Kravchuk (born 1934) was president of the Ukraine (1991-1994), the first ever to be elected by direct popular vote and the first president of this newly independent country. Economic pressures led to his defeat in the presidential election of 1994.

Leonid Kravchuk was born January 10, 1934, in the village of Velykyi Zhytyn, in the Rivne district into a peasant family. His father died at the front in 1944, during World War II. His mother worked on a collective farm until retirement.

Kravchuk completed the Rivne Cooperative Technical School and in 1958 graduated with a diploma from the economics department of Kiev State University. From 1958 to 1960 he taught courses in political economy at the Chernivtsi Financial Technical School.

Resigns From Communist Party

In 1960 he began his career in the Communist Party of Ukraine, and for 30 years he climbed the party ladder. His first step was appointment as a lecturer in the political education branch of the Chernivtsi Party organization. He later became head of its Department of Agitation and Propaganda. The party organization sent him to study at the Academy of Social Sciences of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in Moscow, and in 1970 he obtained the degree of candidate of sciences. From 1970 to 1989 he worked in Kiev in the apparatus of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine, first as head of the sector for the continuing education of party cadres and later as head of the Department of Agitation and Propaganda. From 1989 to 1990 he served as secretary responsible for ideology in the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine, and in June 1990 he was made a member of the Politburo and briefly served as second secretary of the organization. In August 1991, in reaction to the (failed) coup in Moscow, Leonid Kravchuk resigned from Communist Party membership.

When the process of perestroika began in the U.S.S.R., Leonid Kravchuk occupied an important post in the ideological section of the party. During this period he became famous for his participation in open debates with the leading opposition organization-the People's Movement (widely known as Rukh). Due to this popularity and his active support of the democratization of Ukrainian society, he was regarded as a person representing new political thinking. In 1989 he was elected a member of the Supreme Rada of Ukraine (the parliament) from the electoral district of lampilsk, Vinnytsia region. In 1989-1990 Leonid Kravchuk's main activity concentrated on the problem of reforming the Communist Party. He argued the necessity to create an independent Ukrainian party organization and to transform it into a democratic political party of the parliamentary type. His views did not receive the support of the dominant Communist leadership.

Of his transformation from Communist to nationalist in 1989, Kravchuk has said," I have not come from being a Communist to being a nationalist, but to be more precise, from being a Communist to a democrat. I express the interests of not only Ukrainians but also the interests of Russians, of Jews, of Bulgarians, Hungarians and Rumanians who live in the land of the Ukraine."

Ensures Peaceful Transition

It was through his activities in Ukraine's Parliament that Leonid Kravchuk emerged as the country's most prominent politician. In July 1990 he was elected as head (speaker) of the Supreme Rada. In that position he demonstrated his skills as a politician of compromise. From 1990 to 1991 Ukraine experienced political and social turmoil: there were numerous strikes and demonstrations accompanying popular demands for democratization and independence. Kravchuk's ability to forge a consensus was instrumental in ensuring a peaceful transition. Ukraine proclaimed independence, the Communist Party of Ukraine was outlawed, and the first measures aimed at democratization and economic reform were made while Kravchuk headed parliament.

During the presidential elections of December 1, 1991, in which six candidates ran for office, moderation and the ability to compromise were important factors contributing to Leonid Kravchuk's decisive victory. He obtained 61.6 percent of votes, which represented some 20 million voters (out of a total population of 52 million). In his inaugural address to parliament on Dec. 5, 1991, Kravchuk declared, "Only a free citizenry can create a free state."

The record of Kravchuk's years as president was a mixed one. He proved to be best when confronting the difficult task of state-building. Within a matter of months Ukraine gained international recognition, and all the major institutions of a modern state were created (from an independent armed force to a central bank). He forged ties with other eastern European states and resisted Russia's claims on the Crimea. However, he proved unable to deal with the serious economic and social difficulties, and his administration's record on economic reform in particular was found wanting. By the end of 1993 his popular rating was at its lowest, and Ukraine's Parliament, at the same time as setting new legislative elections for April 1994, set new presidential elections for July 26, 1994. Leonid Kravchuk stood for reelection, but was defeated by Leonid Kuchma (born 1939), a former manufacturer of missiles.

Despite his defeat for reelection, Leonid Kravchuk's place in history is secure: he played a decisive role in Ukraine's road to independence and democratic reform. He and his wife, Antonina, a professor of economics at Taras Shevchenko State University in Kiev, have one son.

Further Reading

Foreign Policy (Fall 1995) examines Ukraine's economic stability in "Eurasia Letter: Ukraine's Turnaround" by Anders Aslund. The Ukrainian Weekly (Feb. 12, 1995) looks at Kravchuk post-presidency in "Elder Statesman Leonid Kravchuk addresses Ukrainian Canadians."

(b. 1934), Ukrainian politician and first president of post-Soviet Ukraine.

Elected president of Ukraine on December 1, 1991 - the same date as the historic referendum on Ukrainian independence - Kravchuk won decisively, garnering 61.6 percent of the popular vote in a six-way contest. His primary political achievement was to establish Ukraine's sovereignty and maintain peace and social order with a minimum of violence and almost no ethnic conflict. It is impossible to overemphasize the importance of this accomplishment. However, he appears to have misunderstood the relationship between state building and economic reforms. This failure would cost him the presidency in early elections in July 1994.

A consummate politician, Kravchuk gained for himself the nickname "sly fox" because of his ability to maneuver in predicaments that he himself had created. His political shrewdness manifested itself in the events of 1991 when, as chairman of the Ukrainian Supreme Soviet, he publicly vacillated during the Moscow coup attempt of August 19 - 21. While other Ukrainian officials supported Russian President Boris Yeltsin, Kravchuk urged caution. With the failure of the coup and with public opinion turning against him, Kravchuk led the Communist Party of Ukraine (CPU) to join the democratic opposition on August 24 and to adopt Ukraine's Declaration of Independence by a vote of 346 to 1. Kravchuk also redeemed himself by resigning from the CPU and the CPSU.

Clearly, the CPU strategy was to retain power in an independent Ukraine. The democratic opposition was too weak and disorganized to take power on its own; for this, they needed the Communists. It is ironic that, as the former ideology chief of the CPU, Kravchuk persecuted nationalist groups, such as the Popular Front for Perestroika in Ukraine (Rukh), only to appropriate their goals and program in his 1991 bid for the newly established presidency. As president, however, Kravchuk effectively postponed economic and political reforms in favor of nation building. A notable aspect of his leadership was a continuing reliance on officials of the former Communist apparat in key governmental positions. Consequently, the simultaneous pursuit of political stability and economic reform was all but ruled out.

Confused and contradictory economic policies emanated from Kravchuk's government. He publicly supported radical reforms even as he worked to strengthen the hold of the former nomenklatura over the state and economy. The saga of Kravchuk's management of the economy was the massive emission of cheap credits and budget subsidies to industry, coupled with the imposition of administrative controls over prices and currency exchange rates. Major price increases in January and July 1992 drove Ukraine from the ruble zone in November of that year. But Ukrainian authorities proved no better at controlling inflation, plunging the nation into hyperinflation throughout 1993, when prices increased by more than 10,000 percent. Industrial output also plunged precipitously as the economic crisis widened and deepened.

Throughout 1992 and into 1993, Kravchuk was locked in a struggle with Prime Minister Leonid D. Kuchma for authority to reform the economy. Consequently, Kravchuk dismissed his errant premier in September 1993. The president made a halfhearted attempt to renew the command economy in late 1993, but by then the economic decline severely damaged Kravchuk's credibility. In response to pressure from heavily industrialized eastern Ukraine, Kravchuk agreed to early elections, to be held in July 1994. Facing his one-time premier, Leonid Kuchma, Kravchuk was defeated in the second round, garnering but 45.1 percent of the popular vote. The former president did not retire from politics, however; he was elected a member of parliament in a special election in September 1994, replacing a people's deputy who died before taking office. He was reelected in 1998 and 2002 from the party lists of the Social Democratic Party of Ukraine, and from 1998 onward has been a member of the parliamentary Committee on Foreign Relations.

Bibliography

Kravchuk, Robert S. (2002). Ukrainian Political Economy: The First Ten Years. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

Kuzio, Taras, and Andrew Wilson. (1994). Ukraine: Perestroika to Independence. Edmonton: Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies Press.

Wilson, Andrew. (1997). "Ukraine: Two Presidents and Their Powers." In Postcommunist Presidents, ed. Ray Taras. New York: Cambridge University Press.

—ROBERT S. KRAVCHUK

Leonid Kravchuk Леонід Кравчук
Leonid Kravchuk in 1992.
1st President of Ukraine
In office December 5, 19911 – July 19, 1994
Prime Minister	Vitold Fokin Valentyn Symonenko Leonid Kuchma Yukhym Zvyahilsky
Preceded by	post created2
Succeeded by	Leonid Kuchma
Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada3
In office July 23, 1990 – December 5, 1991
Preceded by	Volodymyr Ivashko
Succeeded by	Ivan Plyushch
People's Deputy of Ukraine
In office May 15, 1990 – December 5, 1991 October 18, 1994 – May 25, 2006
Born	January 10, 1934 (1934-01-10) (age 75) Velykyi Zhytyn, Poland
Birth name	Leonid Makarovych Kravchuk
Nationality	Ukrainian
Political party	unaffiliated
Other political affiliations	Yulia Tymoshenko[1] Viktor Yanukovych[2][3] Social Democratic Party of Ukraine (united) Communist Party (Bolsheviks) of Ukraine
Spouse(s)	Antonina Mykhailivna
Children	Oleksandr
Occupation	Politician
Religion	Ukrainian Orthodox
1Official inauguration was on August 22, 1992. 2Mykola Plaviuk, the 4th President of Ukrainian People's Republic in exile terminated his authority on August 22, 1992 when he formally ceded his authority to Kravchuk. 3From July 23, 1990 to August 24, 1991, the office was known as the "Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the Ukrainian SSR."

Leonid Makarovych Kravchuk (Ukrainian: Леонід Макарович Кравчук) (born January 10, 1934) is a Ukrainian politician, the first President of Ukraine serving from December 5, 1991 until his resignation on July 19, 1994, a former Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada and People's Deputy of Ukraine serving in the Social Democratic Party of Ukraine (united) faction.

After a political crisis involving the President and the Prime Minister, Kravchuk resigned from the Presidency, but ran for a second term as President in 1994. He was defeated by his former Prime Minister, Leonid Kuchma, who served as President for two terms. After his presidency, he was active in Ukrainian politics, serving as a People's Deputy of Ukraine in the Verkhovna Rada and the leader of Social Democratic Party of Ukraine (united)'s parliamentary group (from 2002 to 2006). He is currently politically inactive.^[4]

Leonid Kravchuk is the author of books dealing with his career and Politics of Ukraine (some of them were translated into English). Kravchuk is married to Antonina Mykhailivna, has a son Alexander and three grandchildren – Andrey, Maria and Ylena Kravchuk, Andrey's daughter.

Biography

Leonid Makarovych Kravchuk was born in 1934 in the village of Velykyi Zhytyn (Żytyń Wielki) in Poland. The village became part of Rivne Oblast in the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic after World War II when he was a child. He joined the Communist Party of Ukraine in 1958 and rose through the ranks of the party and its agitprop department. He became a member of the Ukrainian Politburo in 1989 and the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada in 1990.

With the weakening of the central power in the USSR, Kravchuk became the effective leader of the republic. He left the Soviet Communist Party (CPSU) in August 1991 and began to support the Ukrainian independence movement. He officially declared his support for Ukrainian independence after the August 1991 Soviet coup attempt. Later that year, he was elected the first President of Ukraine after Ukraine's first presidential elections.

Political portrait

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Leonid Kravchuk's political creed is avoiding conflicts and straightforward declaration of his position. He is widely considered to be cunning, diplomatic, and cautious. He describes himself as a man who refuses to take an umbrella because he hopes to "slip between the raindrops."

Such diplomacy helped Kravchuk to retain and strengthen his power over Ukraine during the transition from Soviet rule to independence. He was third in command in Ukraine's CPSU leadership before the fall of Soviet Union even though he didn't belong to the ruling Dnipropetrovsk group. He avoided inflexible positions towards democratic changes and was a compromise figure for both party conservatives and reformists.

After becoming president of independent Ukraine, Kravchuk successfully attempted to achieve and strengthen formal sovereignty of the country and develop its relations with the West. He withstood the enormous pressure from Russia and refused to retain the common armed forces and currency inside the Commonwealth of Independent States. Another of his stands has been refusal of nuclear weapons based on Ukrainian territory.

Kravchuk's economic policy is often criticized. He failed to avoid corruption in the privatization of country's industry and promote effective financial decisions. Ukrainian annual inflation rates from 1992 to 1994 reached thousands of percents. Millions of loans given by the semi-government banks defaulted. This led to delays of many years in salaries for industry workers, teachers etc. The collapse of the Black Sea Steamship Company became the saddest symbol of the Kravchuk era. This global merchant fleet, the largest in the world (based mostly in Odessa), was covertly sold out to foreign companies, mostly for fake debts. Hundreds of sailors who hadn't received their salaries were trapped for years on board their vessels throughout the world. Kravchuk's own son was later accused of taking part in this fraud.

Shocked by these developments and also by growing tensions with Russia, the voters of industrial and predominantly Russian-speaking southeastern Ukraine supported Kravchuk's main rival, Leonid Kuchma, in the 1994 presidential elections. Kuchma won under the slogans of fighting corruption, reconstruction of the economy, and further integration with Russia. Kravchuk's reliance on bureaucratic pressure, support of pro-Western nationalists, and media bias did not serve him well.

Soon after his defeat in 1994, Leonid Kravchuk joined the powerful business and political group known as Kiev Holding or the Dynamo Group. This group, led by oligarchs Viktor Medvedchuk and Hryhoriy Surkis, is formally organized as the Social Democratic Party of Ukraine (united). Despite its formal centrist/social-democratic slogans, the party is widely associated with big business, organized crime,^{[citation needed]} corruption, and media bias in favor of President Leonid Kuchma. In 2004, Hryhoriy Surkis was banned from visiting the United States, due to his alleged involvement in irregularities during the Ukrainian presidential election, 2004. The group also took a strongly pro-Russian and anti-Western stand. Analysts say that TV channels and other media controlled by the group have started a sharp anti-U.S./anti-NATO campaign.

Kravchuk has been highly criticized for remaining one of the leaders of SDPU(o), specializing in negotiations and public relations, despite his declared pro-democratic and patriotic position.

During the 2004 presidential elections Kravchuk actively supported the candidacy of Viktor Yanukovych^[2] and was a member of the Yanukovych team that negotiated with the opposition in the aftermath of that disputed election.^[3] In November 2004 he told the media that he was afraid that the resulting crisis would cause the disintegration of the country, intensifying movements for certain regions of Ukraine to join other countries.

On September 25, 2009 Kravchuk declared during the interview with the newspaper Den that he left the Social-Democratic Party (United) and became unaffiliated again. He explained this based on the fact that his former party decided to join the election bloc of left and central left political forces to run for the 2010 presidential elections. He also was indignant due to the fact that the political council of the party decided to accomplish that behind the closed doors in non-democratic order. He called the block as the artificial union without any perspectives.^[5][6] Kravchuk endorsed Yulia Tymoshenko during the 2010 presidential elections campaign.^[1] During the 2010 election campaign he accused incumbent President Viktor Yushchenko of having "turned into Yanukovych's aide. He has actually turned into an also-ran. His task is to slander Yulia Tymoshenko every day and prevent her from winning [the presidential elections]".^[7] Kravchuk explained his shift in support from Yanukovych to Tymoshenko was caused because he felt Yanukovych "turned his back" on all the issues Kravchuk wanted him to address as president: the Ukrainian language, culture and the Holodomor. Only the dead or the stupid do not change their views, he stated in December 2009 when he also voiced the opinion that voting for Yanukovych in the second round of the 2010 elections will indicate one’s anti-Ukrainian position.^[8]

References

1. ^ ^{a b} (Russian) Кравчук стал доверенным лицом Тимошенко на президентских выборах, Focus (October 21, 2009)
2. ^ ^{a b} Viktor Medvedchuk’s Crisis, Ukrainska Pravda (June 26, 2007)
3. ^ ^{a b} Leonid Kravchuk says, Viktor Yanukovych is not against talks with Yuschenko, Radio Ukraine (November 29, 2004)
4. ^ "Kravchuk Not To Run For Snap Rada Elections". ukranews.com. October 25, 2008. http://www.ukranews.com/eng/article/158415.html. Retrieved 2008-12-29. 
5. ^ Kravchuk left SDP(u) (Ukrainian)
6. ^ Kravchuk leaves Social Democratic Party of Ukraine (united), Interfax-Ukraine (September 25, 2009)
7. ^ [], Interfax-Ukraine (October 27, 2009)
8. ^ Kravchuk explains his drift to Tymoshenko, Z I K (December 21, 2009)

Political offices
Preceded by Vladimir Ivashko	Chairman of Supreme Soviet of Ukrainian SSR / Chairman of Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine 1990–1991	Succeeded by Ivan Plyushch
Preceded by Mykola Plaviuk	President of Ukraine 1991–1994	Succeeded by Leonid Kuchma

v • d • e Presidency of Ukraine Presidents Leonid Kravchuk · Leonid Kuchma · Viktor Yushchenko Residences Mariyinsky Palace · House with Chimaeras · House of the Weeping Widow Administration Secretariat of the President · National Security and Defense Council · Representatives Elections 1991 · 1994 · 1999 · 2004 · 2010

v • d • e Leaders of Ukraine West Ukrainian National Republic (1918–1919) Kost Levytsky · Yevhen Petrushevych Ukrainian People's Republic (1917–1920) Mykhailo Hrushevskyi · Volodymyr Vynnychenko · Symon Petliura (Holovnyi Otaman) Hetmanate (1918) Pavlo Skoropadskyi Government-in-exile of the Ukranian People's Republic (1920–1992) Andriy Livytskyi · Stepan Vytvytskyi · Mykola Livytskyi · Mykola Plaviuk Ukrainian Independent Government (1941) Yaroslav Stetsko First Secretaries of the Communist party of the Ukrainian SSR (1917–1991) Georgy Pyatakov · Stanislav Kosior · Dmitry Manuilsky · Emmanuil Kviring · Lazar Kaganovich · Stanislav Kosior · Nikita Khrushchev · Lazar Kaganovich · Nikita Khrushchev · Leonid Melnikov · Alexei Kirichenko · Nikolai Podgorny · Petro Shelest · Volodymyr Shcherbytsky · Volodymyr Ivashko · Stanislav Gurenko Presidents of Ukraine (since 1991) Leonid Kravchuk · Leonid Kuchma · Viktor Yushchenko

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