Murayev abandons Rabinovich plans to unite with Opposition Bloc

MP Yevgeny Murayev, the political council head of the
Russia-linked For Life party, announced on Sept. 21 that he’s leaving the party
to launch a new political force. In a Sept. 22 interview on the ZIK television
network, Murayev indicated that he’s interested in maintaining a staunchly
pro-Russian position and didn’t want to unite with the centrist Opposition
Bloc, as proposed last week by For Life party head Vadim Rabinovich.

“The attempt to unite the opposition bloc with the
opposition bloc within the Opposition Bloc is a political trickery. It’s
uncomfortable to sit in one room with these corrupt people and fake
opposition,” he said, referring to the possibility of Rabinovich working
together with the Yuriy Boyko group. In the same interview, Murayev also
indicated that Viktor Medvedchuk, a confidante to Russian President Putin who
joined the For Life party, could join Rabinovich in uniting with the Opposition
Bloc.

Zenon Zawada: A dramatic
shift is occurring in Ukraine’s Russian-oriented political landscape. If
Medvedchuk and Rabinovich join the Opposition Bloc (as Murayev hinted at), then
the party will take a significant turn towards a pro-Kremlin position. In that
event, Yuriy Boyko will have triumphed over Oleksandr Vilkul in being the
Opposition Bloc’s presidential candidate. In which case, Vilkul will likely
launch his own political project, offering a more centrist alternative to
Ukraine’s southeastern regions, with backing from Rinat Akhmetov.

If the Opposition Bloc takes the pro-Kremlin turn,
then it’s unclear what Murayev would accomplish with his own splinter party.
It’s not likely to be successful without an influential politician, like
Medvedchuk or another big pro-Kremlin persona. It’s worth considering Murayev
could be backing out from the election campaign for reasons other than
politics. And he can offer the NewsOne television channel (which he controls
indirectly) without bias to various competing parties. What will be most
revealing in this reconfiguration is where Medvedchuk will end up.