You're reading: After switching sides, Moroz relegated to political sidelines

The oldest contestant, Moroz, 65, is a leader and founder of Ukraine’s Socialist Party.

A former Communist Party activist, he became a lawmaker in 1990 and has twice been speaker. A critic of ex-president Kuchma, he backed the political opposition in bringing to light the 2000 murder of journalist Georgiy Gongadze and the scandalous recordings of Kuchma’s conversations, alleging abuse of office. His popularity, however, waned after the Orange Revolution, when he changed sides and formed an alliance with opposition leader Yanukovych.