Taras Batenko

Taras Ivanovych Batenko (; born 20 June 1974) is a Ukrainian politician and historian, currently serving as a People's Deputy of Ukraine from Ukraine's 123rd electoral district since 27 November 2014.

Early life and career Taras Ivanovych Batenko was born on 20 June 1974 in the city of Lviv. From 1990, Batenko was a member of the Ukrainian Republican Party, additionally editing the party's journal, , from 1993 to 1996. The same year, he graduated from University of Lviv with a degree in political science. In 1999, he defended his thesis, "The Role of the Opposition Leader in the Public and Political Process of Ukraine in the Second Half of the 20th Century".

From 1996 to 1997, Batenko worked in the Lviv Oblast State Administration as an informational and analytical specialist. Afterwards, he shifted into political research, where he remained until he rejoined the Lviv Oblast State Administration as head of its press service. Batenko was also the head of Viktor Yushchenko's 2004 presidential campaign in Lviv Oblast before returning to the Lviv Oblast State Administration in 2005, this time as deputy head of political and legal issues.

People's Deputy of Ukraine Batenko first ran to be a People's Deputy of Ukraine in the 2012 Ukrainian parliamentary election, running in Ukraine's 123rd electoral district as an independent. Batenko was noted as a candidate by Ukrainska Pravda, but described as "not particularly noticeable." He ultimately failed to be elected, placing second behind with 23.52% of the vote to Koteliak's 30.12%.

Batenko was a supporter of Euromaidan, saying, "Students today have become an expression of democratic attitudes and civic consciousness of the Ukrainian nation," and comparing it to the previous Revolution on Granite and Orange Revolution, as well as the Velvet Revolution in Czechoslovakia.

In the 2014 Ukrainian parliamentary election, Batenko again ran as a People's Deputy in 123rd electoral district, this time as a member of the Petro Poroshenko Bloc. This time he was successful, garnering 50.89% of the vote. Following his election, he became a member of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on the Fuel-Energy Complex, Nuclear Policy, and Nuclear Safety. Batenko defected from the Petro Poroshenko Bloc on 6 November 2015, and was elected as chairman of the political council of the UKROP party on 13 May 2016. In 2018, he was elected as head of the party. In the Verkhovna Rada, he joined the For the Future faction, as well as the Committee of the Verkhovna Rada on issues of budget.

Historical research In addition to his political activities, Batenko is an active historian, having authored around 300 publications. His writings most often involve Ukrainian nationalism in the 19th and 20th centuries, Galicia, religion, and the imprisonment of Mykhailo Horyn, Bohdan Horyn, and Ivan Gel. He has also achieved notoriety for his studies of political figures throughout Ukraine and the Commonwealth of Independent States, including his sharply-critical biographies of Russian President Vladimir Putin.