Yulia Tymoshenko, leader of the Batkivshchyna All-Ukrainian Union party. Biography

Yulia Tymoshenko — early years, the beginning of her career

Yulia Timoshenko was born on November 27, 1960 in Dnepropetrovsk (modern Ukraine). Dnipro). At birth, she received her father's surname, Grigyan, but after graduating from high school she took her mother's maiden name, Telegina. During her studies, she was actively engaged in rhythmic gymnastics.

After school, Tymoshenko enrolled in the Economics Department of the Dnipro National University named after Olesya Gonchar. In 1984, she graduated from the university with a degree in economic cybernetics, receiving a degree in economics engineering. Later, in 2003, she defended her PhD thesis on "State regulation of the tax system."

Tymoshenko began her professional career at the Dnepropetrovsk Machine-Building Plant, where she worked as an economic engineer from 1984 to 1988. In 1988, together with her husband, she opened her own business, a video rental point. From 1989 to 1991, she held the position of Commercial director at the Dnepropetrovsk youth center "Terminal".

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From 1991 to 1995, Tymoshenko headed the corporation "Ukrainian Gasoline" (CUBE), which was engaged in the sale of fuels and lubricants. In November 1995, she assumed the post of President of the United Energy Systems of Ukraine Financial and Industrial Corporation (UESU). The company specialized in barter operations, importing Russian gas in exchange for products from Ukrainian enterprises. During this period, the media called Tymoshenko the "gas princess."

Yulia Tymoshenko — political career

In 1996, Tymoshenko was elected a People's Deputy of the Verkhovna Rada of the second convocation. From 1998 to 2000, she represented the interests of voters already in the Parliament of the third convocation, at the same time heading the budget committee.

In mid-1997, Tymoshenko joined the leadership of the All-Ukrainian association "Gromada", which was headed by former Prime Minister Pavlo Lazarenko. However, in January 1999, she left the association, and in March she founded and headed the Batkivshchyna (Fatherland) parliamentary faction, which was later transformed into the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc (BYuT).

From December 1999 to January 2001, Tymoshenko served as Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine and oversaw the fuel and energy complex. She resigned after a criminal case was opened against her on charges of smuggling Russian gas in 1995-1997. In February 2001, the politician was arrested, but in March the Pechersk District Court overturned the arrest, declaring the charges untenable.

In 2004, Tymoshenko, on behalf of BYuT, signed an agreement with Viktor Yushchenko on the creation of a coalition "The Power of the People" to support his candidacy in the presidential elections. After Yushchenko lost in the first round, she called on opposition supporters to gather on Independence Square in Kiev and became one of the leaders of mass protests against alleged fraud, which went down in history as the "Orange Revolution."

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However, even in these conditions, there are at least five candidates for the post of head of state in the country.

As a result, the third round of elections was held in Ukraine, in which Yushchenko won. After that, in February 2025, the Verkhovna Rada approved Tymoshenko as Prime Minister. However, in September of the same year, her government was dismissed due to conflicts within the country's leadership.

In March 2006, Tymoshenko was re-elected to Parliament on the BYuT list. In the snap elections in September 2007, her bloc received 30.71% of the vote, forming the second largest faction. In December of the same year, Tymoshenko became Prime Minister again.

In January 2010, Tymoshenko ran for president from the Batkivshchyna party. In the second round, she won 45.47% of the vote, but lost to Viktor Yanukovych, remaining as prime minister. In March, the Verkhovna Rada expressed no confidence in her government, relieving her of her duties as head of government.

In 2014, the Batkivshchyna party congress nominated Tymoshenko for the early presidential elections. However, this time the politician could not become the head of state either — she took the third place, losing to Vladimir Zelensky and Petro Poroshenko. In July 2019, Tymoshenko was elected a deputy of the Verkhovna Rada of the IX convocation.

Yulia Tymoshenko — criminal cases

In April 2011, the Prosecutor General's Office of Ukraine opened a criminal case against Tymoshenko — the former prime minister was accused of abuse of power when concluding gas contracts with Russia in 2009. In October, she was sentenced to seven years in prison with an additional ban on holding public office for 3 years. The politician served her term in a women's colony in Kharkov.

At the end of February 2014, after the change of power in Kiev, the Verkhovna Rada decided to release Tymoshenko. After that, she flew to Kiev and addressed the supporters of Euromaidan. Soon, all criminal cases against her were closed and her criminal record was dropped.

In January 2026, employees of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office and the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) conducted searches in the office of the Batkivshchyna party. Later it became known that Tymoshenko was charged with bribing deputies.

NABU also released audio recordings of Tymoshenko's talks with deputies as part of this investigation. On them, the politician explains to the interlocutors how they should vote. At the same time, the voice of the head of Batkivshchyna is easily recognizable, while the voices of other participants in the conversation are distorted, and their identities are not disclosed.

In turn, Tymoshenko confirmed on her Facebook page (owned by Meta, the organization is recognized as extremist and banned in the Russian Federation) that searches had been conducted at the party's office. According to her, they lasted all night.

"They just took away my work phones, parliamentary documents and personal savings, the information about which is fully reflected in the official declaration," she said.

At the same time, Tymoshenko stressed that she completely rejects the charges, and linked the incident to the pre-election preparations.