UKRAINE’S MAIN OPPOSITION BLOC PUBLISHES ELECTORAL LIST
Ukrayinska Pravda website, Kiev
23 Aug 07
A Ukrainian website analyses the opposition Yuliya Tymoshenko Bloc’s
list for the upcoming early parliamentary election. The list has not
changed much from the 2006 regular election, the article says. It is
full of very influential businessmen and Tymoshenko’s old friends,
according to the article. The following is the text the article by
Viktor Chyvokunya entitled "The Tymoshenko Bloc’s list: Hubskyy’s,
Zhevaho’s and Kolomoyskyy’s people" posted on the Ukrayinska Pravda
website on 23 August. Original subheadings retained:
The Yuliya Tymoshenko Bloc’s electoral list for the early 2007
elections has changed little in comparison with the Party of Regions
and OUPU [Our Ukraine-People’s Union]. The number of new faces is
close on 100. Last time the first 127 became MPs at these elections
Tymoshenko is expecting that the electable part of the list will be
pretty much the same.
As Tymoshenko promised, everyone who remained in the YTB faction
before the previous Supreme Council ceased to exist has been given
a place in the electable part.
Tymoshenko-Turchynov group
In keeping with tradition, a number of people directly linked with
Yuliya Tymoshenko stand for parliament. In 26th place in the list is
Tymoshenko’s personal lawyer, Viktor Shvets, who by an irony of fate,
was linked with her back in 2001. Now he is one of the YTB leader’s
trusted comrades, to the extent that Tymoshenko has nominated his
daughter Yuliya to the Central Electoral Commission on her quota.
No 56 in the list is Ruslan Lukyanchyk who, according to Tymoshenko,
is responsible for "delicate issues". He looks after the Tymoshenko
bloc’s finances.
At No 70 is Ivan Kyrylenko. He heads the YTB’s headquarters in
Tymoshenko’s own Dnipropetrovsk Region. Kyrylenko is also to some
degree Tymoshenko’s mentor. "In 1996 he gave me a valedictory in
politics," Tymoshenko said as she thanked Kyrylenko and presented him
with an award at a closed session of the YTB congress at the beginning
of August. "When I was just starting out he was capable of solving any
issue without any difficulty," Tymoshenko said of Kyrylenko who at that
time was [former Ukrainian Prime Minister] Pavlo Lazarenko’s deputy.
In 76th place on the list is Volodymyr Makiyenko. "When the going was
so tough that there seemed not a glimmer of hope, this man made such
an impact on my life that I cannot even tell you about it," Tymoshenko
said. Some reports say that Makiyenko shielded Tymoshenko’s relatives
when [former Ukrainian President Leonid] Kuchma was searching for them.
At No 63 is Mykola Syvulskyy, former head of Gazoresursnyy Konsortsium
[Gas Resources Consortium], one of Tymoshenko’s mentors when she was
starting out on a career in business.
At No 80 is Yevhen Shaho, former head of the Ukrainian Unified Energy
Systems company. In addition, in the YTB list in an unelectable 162nd
position is UES accountant, Antonina Bolyura.
No 102 is Vyacheslav Perederiy, Tymoshenko’s doctor and former deputy
health minister.
At No 106 is the mysterious Garegin Arutyunov. He is one of the
three Arutyunov brothers, a representative of the Armenian diaspora
in Dnipropetrovsk, and as we know, Tymoshenko’s maiden name was
Grigyan before she was married. Sources in Pavlo Lazarenko’s former
circle told Ukrayinska Pravda that Arutyunov used to be someone with
influence who switched to business and was later drawn into the former
Dnipropetrovsk patron’s team.
Arutyunov is believed to be on good terms with Tymoshenko’s aunt,
Antonina Ulyakhina, who deals with Fatherland party matters in her
native region.
Commenting on this, Tymoshenko herself told Ukrayinska Pravda that
she had met Arutyunov two or three years ago. "He helped us organize
the election.
But before that, during the revolution, he was travelling through
Dnipropetrovsk Region, wearing an orange scarf, urging people to rise
up against Yanukovych’s mafia." For that reason he was given a place
in the electable part of the list.
Tymoshenko’s press secretary for many years and her speech writer,
Vitaliy Chepynoha, is in 87th position on the YTB list.
In 143rd position is the head of Tymoshenko’s service, Mykhaylo
Lyvynskyy, and at No 144 is Oleksandr Turchynov’s assistant, Valeriy
Babenko. The political analyst of the YTB headquarters, Viktor Ukolov,
is at No 147 and the head of Fatherland’s press service, Oleksandr
Sochka, is at No 172.
No 161 in the list is Andriy Pavlovskyy, the son of the late YTB MP
Mykhaylo Pavlovskyy, who is also involved in the Kiev Fatherland party.
At the fairly high position of 139 is Vsevolod Borodin, head
administrator of the Fatherland party. Interestingly, Oleksandr
Turchynov was organizer of Viktor Yushchenko’s inauguration in 2005,
but it was Borodin who played the part of the president during
rehearsals.
Turchynov’s colleagues in the Ukrainian Security Council [SBU] are
also on the list. In 23rd position is Andriy Kozhemyakin, who is head
of YTB’s internal security department, and another former deputy head
of the SBU is Oleksandr Skybynetskyy, who is in 61st position.
Switching from the Socialist Party, Yosyp Vinskyy has been given
fourth place in the YTB list and all the organizational work with
branches of the Fatherland party. In 111th position is Vinskyy’s
assistant when he was MP, Hennadiy Zadyrko, who also headed the YTB
headquarters in Donetsk Region.
Hubskyy-Osyka group
The group of Bohdan Hubskyy and his partner Serhiy Osyka has been
increased in the new parliament. Bohdan Hubskyy himself is in 27th
place in the list, although it has been said that at a conference in
July Tymoshenko got a promise from Hubskyy that he would not stand
for a post in the executive power.
In 30th place is Ulyana Mostypan who is head of the Kiev regional
branch of the Fatherland party.
At No 51 is Serhiy Osyka who virtually controls the majority in
the Kiev Regional Council. It was he who presented Tymoshenko with
[Richard Bach’s] book "Jonathan Livingston Seagull", which fired Ms
Tymoshenko’s imagination.
At No 79 is Anton Yatsenko, a protege of Osyka’s. He is described
in documents as "acting senior research officer of the Institute of
World Economy and International Relations of the Ukrainian Academy
of Sciences".
In actual fact Yatsenko is doing pretty well in these circles thanks
to the tender chamber and conducts talks on its behalf and encourages
politicians to support this structure. Osyka himself is head of one of
the sub-sections of the tender chamber, although during the elections
Turchynov gave an instruction that there should be no supplementary
questions and for him to quit this office.
At No 114 in the YTB list is Kostyantyn Bondarev. Starting from the
last elections, Tymoshenko requested that businessmen, in order not
to upset the electorate, should where possible describe themselves
in the electoral list as representatives of charity funds and public
organizations. As such, Bondarev was described as "a member of the
board of the regional public organization, The People’s Right". In
actual fact Bondarev is a shareholder and head of the supervisory
council of the Veles bank, as well as the owner of a distillery
business trading under the name "Bondarev". Among this group’s plans
is the development of its own chain of food markets. Bondarev is also
deputy head of the Kiev Regional Council, where the YTB has an absolute
majority. The head of the regional council, Volodymyr Maybozhenko,
is head of the YTB’s electoral headquarters in the Kiev region.
At No 55 in the list is Oleksandr Shepelev, a Donetsk banker, whose
involvement in the [Ukrainian police colonel] Yerokhin [murder] case
[former Interior Minister] Yuriy Lutsenko was unable to prove. At
the last elections Hubskyy recommended that Shepelev’s name should
be in the list.
Pavlo Kostenko, a partner of Hubskyy’s and Surkis’ since the times
of the Ukrainian Food Campany, is 72nd on the YTB list.
At No 73 is Serhiy Pashynskyy, a colleague of Hubskyy’s, who was head
of the YTB’s Zhytomyr regional headquarters. Tymoshenko describes
Pashynskyy as "another sacrifice of the Kuchma regime". She once took
him away from a detention centre in her own car.
At No 74 is the 27-year old lawyer Valeriy Pysarenko, whom Tymoshenko
once described as "our young talent".
No 78 is Ihor Rybakov, an Odessa businessman, who was also recommended
by Hubskyy at the last election.
In 90th position is Ihor Yeresko, who heads the YTB headquarters in
Hubskyy’s strategically important Cherkassy Region.
At No 97 is Petro Kuzmenko, another of Hubskyy’s proteges.
Also in Hubskyy’s group at No 65 on the list is the millionaire
builder Ivan Kurovskyy, who owns the Zhytlo-Bud company.
Group of construction businessmen
Apart from Kurovskyy, there are several people in the YTB list who
are involved in the most lucrative forms of activity in Ukraine today.
At No 113 in the list is Vasyl Sobchenko, head of the board of the
Tayha open joint-stock company. Kyivmiskbud is among the founders of
this construction firm. Sobchenko’s partner Andriy Volyk is in 119th
place in the list.
In 120th position is Oleg Malych, deputy head of the supervisory
council of Kiev construction company No 2 which deals in construction
work in the capital.
Another construction businessman in 157th place in the list is
Vadym Trofymenko who is involved with the company which is building
the notorious office and shopping complex in front of the Olympic
sports complex. Ihor Hryniv (in 42nd position in the list), who is
responsible for the PR of the Reforms and Order Party, which is now
part of Tymoshenko’s bloc, deals with the media side of this project.
Abdullin’s group
Over the past year Oleksandr Abdullin, who is in 49th position in the
list, has had a stunning career in the Fatherland party. Now all of
Tymoshenko’s creative ideas are concentrated on him as deputy head
of the YTB’s headquarters. Abdullin has recommended Ihor Cherkaskyy
(in 125th place) in the list. He was previously deputy head of Ihor
Bakay’s DSA [Directorate of State Affairs]. Cherkaskyy is also a
shareholder of the Kredo-Klassik insurance company, talks on the
takeover of which are being conducted by Austrian businessmen.
In 164th place in the list is Serhiy Koshyn. He is described in
documents as a director of the Dubrovytskyy school of motoring under
the Ukrainian Defence Aid Society (formerly DOSAAF). In actual fact,
Koshyn is head of Tymoshenko’s Rivne headquarters. Abdullin put him
there in his place.
Zhevaho’s group
The YTB’s wealthiest man, Kostyantyn Zhevaho, stood firm at a time
when they tried to force him to join the anti-crisis coalition. For
this Zhevaho got 62nd place in the new list.
Other members of Zhevaho’s team remained in their positions in the
YTB: Zoya Shishkyna (82nd place), Anzhelyka Labunskaya (88th) and
Ruslan Zozulya (93rd).
In addition, another of Zhevaho’s colleague’s made it to the electoral
part in 109th place is Oleh Babayev, president of the Vorskla football
club, which is owned by companies close to Zhevaho.
And in an electable 52nd position albeit in the Our Ukraine list is
Zhevaho’s partner, Aleksiy Kucherenko.
Feldman’s group
Kharkiv businessman Oleksandr Feldman (43rd place in the list) heads
the regional headquarters of Tymoshenko’s bloc, and his deputy,
Valeryy Kamchatnyy, is in 99th spot.
The 105th position is occupied by Valeryy Danylov, Feldman’s former
partner in the Metallist football club. Opinions differ as regards
their current relationship. Danylov is now the owner of another team,
Kharkiv FC.
In 130th position in the list is Oleh Heyman. Although he is listed in
the electoral documents as a director of the Radiorele plant, he has
a relationship with the Kharkiv-based Staryy Bazar company. Markets
in this area are Feldman’s main business concern.
Tariel Vasadze
The car magnate Tariel Vasadze is in 41st spot in the new YTB
list. He is also head of the Zaporizhzhya regional headquarters of
the Tymoshenko bloc.
In 138th position is Valeryy Krayniy, deputy head of the board of
the Zaporizhzhya motor-vehicle plant which belongs to Vasadze.
Buryak group
The Buryak brothers, the owners of Brokbiznesbank, are responsible
for the Khmelnytskyy headquarters of Tymoshenko’s bloc at the early
elections.
Serhiy, the older of the brothers, is in 38th place in the list and
Oleksandr 69th.
The deputy head of the board of Brokbiznesbank, Oleksandr Ponomarenko,
occupies the almost unelectable 145th position in the list.
Pryvat group
The two lawyers linked with the Pryvat group Andriy Portnov (58th
position) and Svyatoslav Oliynyk (86th) have kept their positions in
the electable part of the list.
In 169th place is Volodymyr Pylypenko. In the electoral documents
he is described as a lawyer of the Corporative Technologies lawyers’
association.
This firm is linked with the Pryvat group, and Serhiy Petrashko, Viktor
Medvedchuk’s [former head of USDPU] lawyer, is one of its founders.
In 239th spot is Vitalyy Frantsuz, a member of Ukrnafta’s investment
branch, a company controlled by [Ihor] Kolomoyskyy.
288th place in the list is occupied by Oleksandr Dubinin, the head
of the board of the Stakhaniv ferroalloys plant, which is part of
the Pryvat group.
Lawyers group
Apart from Korniychuk, Shvets, Portnov, Oliynyk and Pisarenko, there
are a number of other lawyers in YTB’s list. In 118th place is Petro
Krupko, formerly a cabinet minister in Tymoshenko’s government,
and later deputy justice minister.
The well-known Kiev lawyer Serhiy Vlasenko, who was [Viktor] Pinchuk’s
lawyer in the Kryvoryzhstal privatisation cases, has found himself
in the unelectable 170th position. He came on to the list as a member
of the Ukrainian Social Democratic Party. This structure is headed by
Yevhen Korniychuk (10th in the YTB list), who was Vlasenko’s partner
in the legal business and is the brother-in-law of the head of the
Supreme Court Vasyl Onopenko.
Way down in 329th spot in the list is Yuryy Dmytruk, president of the
Yurisvest firm of lawyers. Mykola Onyshchuk, the deputy head of Our
Ukraine’s electoral headquarters on legal matters, is the co-founder
of this company.
Others
There are a number of other interesting names in the Tymoshenko
bloc list.
In 75th place is Olena Shyshkina, the daughter of Viktor Shyshkin,
a member of the Constitutional Court.
In 91st spot is Yuryy Poluneyev, Ukraine’s former head at the European
Bank of Reconstruction and Development. Some reports say that Poluneyev
was recommended to Tymoshenko by Vitalyy Hayduk from the Industrial
Union of the Donbass. What is also of interest is that Poluneyev,
from the International Investment Corporation, is a member of the
supervisory council of Ukrhazbank, which belongs to Party of Regions
MP Vasyl Horbal.
In 95th position is Oleh Shevchuk who used to be head of the State
Communications Committee and is now in the telecommunications business.
And in 96th spot is Viktor Lozynskyy, the head of Holovanivskyy
Khlib closed joint-stock company’s auditing commission. In 2006 he
was the Party of Regions’ envoy in one of the districts in Kirovograd
Region and his current appearance in the YTB list caused an emotional
reaction among the "old Tymoshenko guard". The more odious beasts of
the Leonid Kuchma era went through a re-education procedure in this
political force.