Novinsky elected as Opposition Bloc head, report says

Vadim Novinsky, a business partner with Rinat
Akhmetov, was elected the head of the Opposition Bloc parliamentary faction,
the pravda.com.ua news site reported on Nov. 20, citing anonymous sources
within the faction. Oleksandr Vilkul will serve as his deputy, the report said.
The same day, the faction voted to remove its co-head, Yuriy Boyko, and his
close associate, Serhiy Lyovochkin.

Novinsky built his business empire in Ukraine as a
Russian citizen before becoming a Ukrainian citizen in 2012. Among Ukraine’s
handful of billionaires, Novinsky is a leading defender of Russian language and
culture in Ukraine, having warned of civil war this year if a canonical
Orthodox Church of Ukraine is created to replace the Moscow Patriarchate and
take control of its properties.

Zenon Zawada: Novinsky’s
election is significant for two reasons. He is a close business partner to
Akhmetov, thereby securing his control over the faction, and likely the party.
And Novinsky is highly recognized for his pro-Russian positions. That means
that Akhmetov is likely to field a presidential candidate, and a political
party based on the Opposition Bloc (with the same name possibly), to compete
for Ukraine’s Russian-oriented electorate in next year’s elections.

As we mentioned, Akhmetov will have to be careful in developing the project as he risks
losses to his influence and image if it fails, particularly in competition with
the party led by Boyko and Viktor Medvedchuk, Putin’s confidante. So far, their
political positions appear to be almost identical, which is negative because it
means they could cannibalize each other’s electorate.