Serhiy Ratushniak

Serhiy Mykolayovych Ratushnyak (Ukrainian: Сергій Миколайович Ратушняк; born February 17, 1961) is a former[2] Mayor of Uzhhorod and was a self-nominated candidate in the 2010 Ukrainian presidential election.[3] During the election Ratushnyak received 0.12% of the votes.[4]

Serhiy Ratushnyak
Mayor of Uzhgorod
In office
2006[1] – 2010[2]
Personal details
Born
Serhiy Mykolayovych Ratushnyak

(1961-02-17) 17 February 1961[1]
Uzhgorod, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union
Political partyIndependent, former party's include: Hromada, For United Ukraine, Our Ukraine, Regions of Ukraine, People's Party[1]

Biography

Ratushniak was born in Uzhgorod, Ukrainian SSR.[1] He entered politics in 1994 after creating RIO, a syndicate of enterprises engaged in beverage sales, the production of cured meats and taxi service. Ratushnyak was charged in 2000 with embezzlement, but released after the charges were dropped.[5]

In August 2009, Ratushnyak was alleged to have beaten a female campaigner of fellow presidential candidate, Arseniy Yatseniuk (Front of Change)[6] A criminal case was soon opened against Ratushniak, he was accused of hooliganism, abuse of office and the violation of racial and national equality of citizens,[7] Ratushniak denies the claims.[8] Ratushniak was not previously known to be anti-Semitic.[8] Following his nomination Ratushniak told a local paper that the Jews were to blame for all his country's troubles.[8] Ratushnyak has also called Yatsenyuk "a nasty Jew mason"[5] and an "impudent little Jew" who was "successfully serving the thieves who are in power in Ukraine and is using criminal money to plough ahead towards Ukraine's presidency".[8] The mayor told the Associated Press in a telephone interview: "Is everybody obliged to love Jews and Israel? If I don't like Jews and Israel, does that make me an anti-Semite?".[8]

In late December 2009, Ratushniak called on President Viktor Yushchenko to declare war on Somalia; referring to the taking hostage of Ukrainian sailors by Somali pirates.[9] Ratushniak also believes Americans should atone for killing native Indians before meddling in Ukraine's internal affairs.[9] He also wants to tax the rich, develop nuclear arms and oblige all Ukrainians to learn another foreign language, apart from Russian.[10]

After the first round of the 2010 Ukrainian presidential election where Ratushniak gained only 0.12% of the votes he called upon his voters to support Yulia Tymoshenko against Viktor Yanukovych in the second round: "She will be accepted by the international community and European governments, while every second of those will shut the door in front of Yanukovych."[11]

During the 2010 Mayoral elections, Ratushniak ended in second place.[2]

Ratushniak tried to return to national politics in the 2012 Ukrainian parliamentary election by trying to win, as an independent candidate, single-member districts number 68 (first-past-the-post wins a parliament seat) located in Uzhgorod; but he became second in this district with 19.51% of the votes.[12]

In the 2014 Ukrainian parliamentary election he stood again as an independent candidate in the same single-member districts as in 2012; but this time he placed fifth with 7.71% of the votes (winner Robert Horvat of Petro Poroshenko Bloc got 21.58%).[13]

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References
  1. (in Ukrainian) Ратушняк Сергій Миколайович ЗАКАРПАТТЯ online
  2. "Archived copy" (in Ukrainian). Archived from the original on 2010-11-10. Retrieved 2011-01-15.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. Central Election Commission registers Uzhgorod mayor as presidential candidate, Kyiv Post (November 13, 2009)
  4. (in Ukrainian) ЦВК оприлюднила офіційні результати 1-го туру виборів, Gazeta.ua (January 25, 2010)
  5. Political Pulse: Presidential field takes shape, Kyiv Post (November 11, 2009)
  6. Mayor of Uzhhorod alleged to have beaten girl campaigner of Front of Changes, Kyiv Post (August 7, 2009)
  7. Ratushnyak: I'm not xenophobic, but ‘It is not my fault that these Ukrainian billionaires are of Jewish origin', Kyiv Post (August 14, 2009)
  8. Anti-Semitic Ukraine mayor to run for president, Jerusalem Post (November 17, 2009)
  9. Uzhgorod mayor: We should declare war on Somali, Kyiv Post (December 30, 2009)
  10. Rough-edged Ratushnyak goes nowhere on national platform, Kyiv Post (January 14, 2010)
  11. http://korrespondent.net/ukraine/politics/1037055
  12. (in Ukrainian)Single-mandate constituency № 69, Central Election Commission of Ukraine
  13. (in Ukrainian) Candidates and winner for the seat in constituency 68 in the 2014 Ukrainian parliamentary election Archived 2014-12-24 at Archive.today, RBK Ukraine
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