Early life Mykola Tomenko (born in a village of Mali Kanivtsi,
Chornobai Raion, currently
Zolotonosha Raion, in
Cherkasy Oblast of Ukraine) is one of the few
veterans of the
Soviet-Afghan War among the Ukrainian politicians. Between 1983, and 1985 Tomenko served his
conscript service in the
Soviet Airborne Troops, reaching a rank of
Sergeant during the war. In 1989, after his military service, Tomenko graduated from
Kyiv University specializing in Ukrainian
political history. Shortly after, in 1992 he obtained his
Kandidat degree (roughly equivalent to
Ph.D.) defending his thesis on the topic "The issue of statehood in the program, documents and activities of the present-day parties in Ukraine (historical-political analysis)." During his student years, after initially being a
Komsomol activist, Tomenko later became the initiator of the local Komsomol organization's dissolution. Tomenko began his professional career in 1992 at the Institute of National Operation and Self-government as the Head of the Political Science Department. Between 1992 and 1998 he was the vice-president of the
Foundation "The Ukrainian Outlook", the director of the Institute of Post-communism Society and the Institute of Politics (listed are
non-governmental politics research organizations). At the same time he continued lecturing history and political science courses at Kyiv universities, finally becoming the Head of the Politology department in the National University
"Kyiv-Mohyla Academy".
Political career , then the leader of the
All-Ukrainian Union "Fatherland". In mid-1990s Tomenko began his political career as a member of "My" (Ukrainian for
Us) Political Union - a liberal-patriotic group close to
Reforms and Order Party. In 1998 he was number 15 in the electoral list of
Parliament candidates for Reforms and Order Party, but the party obtained no seats in parliament. In 2002 Tomenko was elected to the Parliament on the list of the "
Our Ukraine" Block (which contained Reforms and Order Party). In late 2005 he left the party over a split on whether to back
Yulia Tymoshenko or President
Viktor Yuschenko (at the time he accused
Petro Poroshenko and other Yuschenko allies of
corruption), and became a member of
Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc. In 2006 Tomenko became elected to Verkhovna Rada on the list of that Bloc. Tomenko was placed at number 8 on the electoral list of
Batkivshchina during the
2012 Ukrainian parliamentary election. In the
2014 Ukrainian parliamentary election Tomenko was re-elected into parliament after being in the top 10 of the electoral list of
Petro Poroshenko Bloc. After declaring support for the candidature of
Anatoliy Hrytsenko in the
2019 Ukrainian presidential election Tomenko became the supervisor of Hrytsenko's media strategy in Hrytsenko's election headquarters. In the July
2019 Ukrainian parliamentary election Tomenko was placed in the top five in the top ten of the party list of
Civil Position. But the party did not win any seats (winning 1.04% of the national vote and not one constituency). Tomenko is a candidate (and party leader) for the
Kyiv City Council and was simultaneously candidate for
Mayor of Kyiv for the party "Native Land" in the
2020 Kyiv local election. He finished 8th place with 15.039 votes. "Native Land" also failed to win any seats in the Kyiv City Council. The “Native Land” party was a continuation of the (2016 established) organization with the same name. ==Political style==