Sivets Viktor Nikolaevich and Russian oligarchs. Lebedev's hotel in Crimea warmed up fugitive Ukrainian officials. The white “brick” is being baked again in Simferopol

Residents of the occupied Crimea, who previously vacationed at the More Hotel, its frequent guests were the wanted ex-head of KievUniversalService LLC (the so-called “ZhEK Mezhyhirya”) Alexander Fainitsky, former deputy secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine Vladimir Sivkovich and the ex-head of the State Agency forest resources of Ukraine Victor Sivets.

“I was amazed when I saw these comrades here. Vladimir Sivkovich comes to rest with his family. Alexander Fainitsky was literally last week,” an interlocutor who returned from a vacation in Alushta told the Center.

According to guests of the More Hotel, the former head of the State Forestry Agency Sivets is not just relaxing there, but is applying for the position of general director of the hotel.

Yanukovych’s “forester” Sivets generally behaves like a boss. The staff is discussing that he is aiming for the position of the general director, but so far there is no such order,” said a source from the Center.

Alexander Fainitsky

The ex-head of KievUniversalService LLC, Alexander Fainitsky, was involved in a scandal involving the theft of the fleet of fugitive President Yanukovych. The GPU also informed him of suspicion of involvement in the illegal transfer of the Sukholuchye hunting grounds in the Kyiv region to Yanukovych.

The Security Service of Ukraine has put Fainitsky on the wanted list. He is charged under Article 191 Part 5 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine - misappropriation or embezzlement of someone else's property that was entrusted to a person or was under her jurisdiction.

- one of the main suspects in the dispersal of the Maidan on November 30, 2013. From March 11 to October 13, 2010, he served as Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine. From October 2010 to December 2013 - Deputy Secretary of the Council national security and defense of Ukraine. On February 19, 2014, Sivkovych was returned to his position, but on February 28, after ex-President Viktor Yanukovych fled the country, the Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada, acting president Oleksandr Turchynov fired him.

Former chairman of the State Forestry Agency during the presidency of Viktor Yanukovych, Viktor Sivets, together with his wife, are suspected of laundering proceeds from crime and receiving bribes. The investigation by the Prosecutor General's Office established that the former official, in a preliminary conspiracy with his wife and other unidentified persons, systematically received bribes from foreign entities in 2011-2014 entrepreneurial activity for obtaining the opportunity to purchase timber and forest products in Ukraine for a total amount of more than a million hryvnia, which were subsequently transferred to

Crimeans in February 2014 put forward a complete renewal of management personnel as one of the main demands for the new government, which came with polite people.
Starting from village councils and ending with the leadership of the Council of Ministers.

I remember very well how at the beginning of March 2014 the entire center of Simferopol was flooded with ordinary people rejoicing at the return of Crimea to Russia. Ordinary people in one impulse they supported the demand to return Crimea, and carried the latter to the militia headquarters, starting from old coats and jars of jam, ending with diesel generators.
And the deputies and ministers crawled away like cockroaches, and their appearance in April 2014 was clearly visible from the tanned faces that suddenly appeared in the reception room of Aksenov and Konstantinov and in the cafe between them.
By July 2015, the bewilderment of the Crimeans grew into open complaints against Aksenov - the entire pack of thieves from the Party of Regions successfully replaced the yellow and black ensigns with St. George ribbons, and they all embraced Orthodoxy and patriotism.
There is no greater Russian patriot in Crimea now than a Crimean official from the Yanukovych school.

If you analyze the composition of ministers and deputy prime ministers of Crimea, you will see that everything has returned to normal. The feeling that Ukraine successfully continues to govern Crimea becomes confident.

In confirmation of Aksenov’s wise policy, I would like to cite the last example - purpose another leader from Kyiv, appointed by both Yushchenko and Yanukovych to manage all the forests of Ukraine.
As a result of his work, Moldova practically lost the Dniester, which gives drinking water the center of the country and Chisinau. The reason is the total deforestation over the last decade in the Carpathians, from where the Dniester flows. No forests - no water in the Dniester.

This powerful leader, who has already had a criminal case opened in Ukraine for causing damage worth 140 million hryvnia, has now come in handy in Crimea.

Sivets Viktor Nikolaevich. Meet me.

But check out the biography of this powerful leader, he replaced Lenya Cosmonaut as mayor of Kyiv
:

And here is the criminal on the right of Viktor Sivets, as they say in Ukraine:

Of course, in all of Crimea there was not a single person who could become the director of GUP, and something tells me that it is the stolen money that is now in Crimea that is both the key to obtaining positions in the top leadership of Crimea, and recognition of merit - it was stolen and not went to jail? Handsome, let's make you the director of a state unitary enterprise for $100,000?

It is thanks to this personnel policy that Crimea is now in a pre-catastrophic state. They will not engage in the revival of Crimea. They have completely different tasks.
Which? Answer this question yourself.

Wikipedia has articles about other people with this surname, see.

Viktor Nikolaevich Sivets(1919-1984) - Soviet industrial figure, director of the Tashkent Aviation Plant named after V.P. Chkalov, Hero of Socialist Labor (1971).

Biography

Born on May 4, 1919 in Przhevalsk, Issyk-Kul region of Kyrgyzstan. Graduated in 1943. Labor activity He began at the Tashkent aviation plant in the Uzbek SSR, in 1943 as a foreman, and from 1944 as a senior foreman in the assembly shop. At the beginning of 1945 it was recognized " the best master plant."

In 1947-1963 - workshop manager, production manager, deputy chief engineer, 1963-1969 - chief engineer of plant No. 84, and from 1969 to 1973 director of the Tashkent Aviation Plant named after V.P. Chkalov, Ministry of Aviation Industry of the USSR. Under him, in 1969, the plant began serial production of heavy military transport aircraft An-22 Antey.

On April 26, 1971, by Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, Sivets Viktor Nikolaevich was awarded the title of Hero of Socialist Labor with the Order of Lenin and the Hammer and Sickle gold medal.

Since 1973 - General Director of the Tashkent Aviation Production Association (TAPO) named after. V.P. Chkalov, Ministry of Aviation Industry of the USSR.

Since 1973, the association began producing the IL-76 medium airborne transport aircraft and its modifications.

He died on December 9, 1984, and was buried in Tashkent at the Chigatai memorial cemetery.

General Director of the Tashkent Aviation Production Association named after. V. P. Chkalova (1969–1984).

Born in 1919 in the city of Przhevalsk (now Karakol, Issyk-Kul region of Kyrgyzstan).

After graduating from the aircraft manufacturing faculty of KAI, he worked at the Tashkent Aviation Plant: foreman (1943–1944), senior foreman (1944–1945), shop manager, production manager, deputy chief engineer (1947–1963), chief engineer (1963–1969), director (1969–1976) He worked in this position for the last 15 years of his life, during which the company began producing the famous An-22 Antey and Il-76 aircraft, assembling the wings of the world’s largest airliners, the An-124 Ruslan. and An-225 "Maria".

As director of a major aircraft manufacturing enterprise, he established himself as an outstanding production organizer, a highly qualified and principled engineer, and a creative thinking person, possessing a strong will and perseverance, the qualities of a true researcher and tireless experimenter. He paid unrelenting attention to everything new and advanced, took a direct part in the development of production management systems, improving planning and economic stimulation of new forms of labor organization. The subject of his special concern was the training and education of leading personnel.

Twice Hero of Socialist Labor, laureate of the USSR State Prize (1973), laureate of the Lenin Prize (1978), laureate of the State Prize named after. A. Beruni Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic(1974). Awarded five Orders of Lenin, the Order October Revolution and medals.

One of the streets of Tashkent and the Palace of Culture and Technology of the State Joint Stock Company “Tashkent Aviation Production Association named after. V. P. Chkalova."

• Vitaly Chervonenko, Stanislav Gruzdev (photo), “Commander in Chief”
• 29 Chervnya, 2011, 10:00
• Rozsilka

  VIDPRAVITI



The head of Yanukovych's election headquarters in Kyiv about the future of Popov

The former deputy of Chernovetsky, the head of Viktor Yanukovych’s election campaign in Kyiv for the presidential elections, and now the head of the Forestry Agency, Viktor Sivets, surprised with his style of communication with journalists. Nowadays, arranging an interview with one of the top officials is not so easy: long negotiations with the press secretary, demands to send almost full list questions, references to constant employment and lack of time have become “normal” practice. All the greater was our surprise that, an hour after the request for an interview, we had already been given a time - at 10 am the next day. Having sent the text for proofreading, we received it back without a single edit.

The office of Victor Sivets tells about its owner even more than he himself. Rich and luxuriously crafted furniture immediately indicates his love of form. And the engraved monogram “VNS” on the work chair (Viktor Nikolaevich Sivets) indicates hypertrophied pride.

The original wooden hunting elements of the interior reveal that its owner is a big fan of this activity. A huge photo of worship before Moscow Patriarch Kirill on the wall clearly shows which church the owner of the office considers the main one in Ukraine.

Until 2005, Sivets was a well-known furniture maker in Kyiv, led, and according to some sources, owned the House of Parquet group of companies. Moreover, the company received the most “fat” orders, including from government agencies. After Viktor Yushchenko came to power, Sivets’ life began new stage“The President personally invited the famous furniture maker to work at Lesokhoz as deputy head, supposedly for “achievements in the furniture business.”

Found common language Viktor Sivets and Yanukovych. Having become prime minister in 2006, he immediately appointed Sivets as head of the State Forestry Agency. There he sat until 2008 and Yulia Tymoshenko’s arrival as Prime Minister. After his dismissal, the country’s former chief forester did not remain without work, becoming the executive director of Active Development Ukraine LLC, part of the Ukrpodshipnik group of the Klyuev brothers. It is this experience that is considered confirmation of Viktor Nikolaevich’s close relationship with the current First Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Klyuyev.

The subsequent appointment of Sivets in June 2008 as Chernovetsky’s deputy, and later as the head of Viktor Yanukovych’s election headquarters in Kyiv, is associated with this person. Former colleagues from his work in the Kyiv authorities, they claim that after the elections he expected to take the post of head of the Kyiv City State Administration, and later become a candidate from the Party of Regions in the mayoral elections. But, according to our interlocutors, the new President was not impressed by Yanukovych’s results in Kyiv (according to the Central Election Commission website, 25.72%), and Sivets was unable to get into the new Kyiv position. A kind of “consolation prize” for him was the post of head of the State Forestry Agency, which became vacant after the dismissal of Litvinov’s Nikolai Shershun.



Viktor Yushchenko made me an offer to go to work at Leskhoz

Viktor Nikolaevich, you have been working at the State Forestry Agency for the longest time in our memory, in 2005 you became deputy head, from 2006 to 2008 - heads of the department. Now, under President Viktor Yanukovych, they have again headed, but not the committee, but the reformed Forest Resources Agency. What really changed after the transformation of the committee into an agency other than the name?

The management system has changed. Now the agency is engaged in forestry management, and the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food, through its inspections, monitors the work of the State Forestry Agency. There was a division of functions. Previously, the committee was engaged in economic activities and checked itself. Naturally, this was not entirely effective.

Did this division produce any results?

There are first results. In the first five months, when we were exclusively engaged in forestry, we achieved good economic indicators. Wood sales increased by 41% compared to 2010, which in monetary terms amounted to an increase of 560 million hryvnia. The average salary in the industry increased by 700 hryvnia to 2,400 hryvnia per month. We paid 120 million more in taxes.

Did they cut down more wood if they got such growth?

No, we didn't cut down any more wood. On the contrary, we have a problem, in some areas there is “uncut wood” that should have been cut down, but was not cut down. This is a problem, because no one cuts wood just like that, it is gaining ripeness, and if it is not cut down now, it will lose its technological properties and lose value.

You are talking about the positive aspects of administrative reform. But, for example, your colleague from the State Reserve, Alexey Lelyuk, complained to the “Commander in Chief” that due to cutbacks in his department, the legal department was practically paralyzed. Have you had anything similar?

We didn't have such problems. On the contrary, functions unusual for us were transferred to the Ministry of Agrarian and Industrial Complex, and we fully welcome this. We have complete understanding with the minister.

What is striking in your biography is interesting fact: you were studying seriously furniture business, managed the Parquet House company, which carried out serious orders for the Presidential Administration and other departments. And then in 2005 you were appointed deputy head of the State Forestry Agency. From the outside it may seem that it’s like letting a fox into the henhouse - putting a furniture businessman in charge of a forestry enterprise. How did it happen that you were appointed?

First of all, furniture production does not require purchasing large quantity round wood. It accounts for only 5% of the cost of production. In the production of this table (he knocks on a solid table in his office), its share in the cost is 5-10%.

When I worked in business, I encountered representatives of the forestry industry. I really didn't like their work system. The forestry manager has a virtual monopoly on the sale of timber. He wants to sell it to one company, and he wants to sell it to another, and he chooses at what price. It turned out that in reality we do not have the opportunity, even for serious money, to buy the wood we need. Forestry managers are not interested in this.

Because of this, in Ukraine, except for enterprises producing chipboards, there were no serious investments in the production of large furniture factories.

Therefore, I wanted to create conditions, and so far I have succeeded thanks to the support of the President and the government, for the introduction of a transparent auction mechanism. And at the auction, the one who has the most modern production, competent wood processing and optimal profit from production finished products, will be able to afford to buy raw materials at the most favorable price. Thanks to this mechanism, we see an increase in product sales. Direct contracts between enterprises and forestry enterprises are now completely prohibited. After all, this is pure corruption. We have a provision, which has already been registered with the Ministry of Justice, that all wood must be sold for domestic manufacturer on the domestic market.



Let's talk about your innovations a little later. Tell me, who invited you to the forestry enterprise in 2005 to the post of deputy head? What you wanted to do is one thing, and who suggested it to you is another. At that time, Viktor Yushchenko was the President, and Yuri Yekhanurov was the Prime Minister...

Then it turned out that our company, as you yourself said, carried out large and important orders. In 2005 we were engaged in academic puppet theater. Mayor Alexander Omelchenko and President Viktor Yushchenko visited the site several times. Everything that is made there from wood is made by the company that I head. Viktor Yushchenko was pleasantly surprised that there are companies in Ukraine capable of making artistic parquet, panels, doors and so on. He became very interested and made me an offer to go to work at the Leskhoz. So that people work there who can not only cut down and sell the forest, but also create conditions for investment and the operation of a transparent timber market. That is, my appointment to the State Forestry Committee became a matter of chance.

Did Yushchenko promote you to the post of head of the Forestry Agency in 2006?

No, not Yushchenko. This happened thanks to the initiative of Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych. Then the question arose that it was necessary to determine the strategy for the work of forestry, hunting, and the woodworking industry. There were several candidates who were interviewed by the Prime Minister. Viktor Yanukovych chose me.

“Shershun had a choice - to surrender his mandate and become the head of the State Forestry Agency”

By the way, what happened to your furniture business? The Parquet House company is still operating, are you still somehow connected with it?

I have no relationship with this company. She works for herself. And as soon as I was appointed at the end of 2005, I stopped all commercial activities. I am not involved in business, I am involved in the management and maintenance of forestry in Ukraine, I do not lobby for the interests of the Parquet House company.

Who offered you the post of head of the Forestry Agency when you headed the Agency for the second time? For some time you worked as the executive director of Active Development Ukraine LLC, part of the Ukrpodshipnik group of the Klyuev brothers. It is logical to assume that it was Andrey Klyuev who recommended you...

In fact, we have one person appointing all positions - Viktor Yanukovych. By presidential decree of January 12, I was appointed. On January 10, I had an interview with Viktor Yanukovych, who offered me the post due to the fact that Nikolai Kharitonovich Shershun refused to surrender his mandate people's deputy Ukraine. Shershun had a choice - to surrender his mandate and become the head of the State Forestry Agency. But he chose the mandate of a people's deputy.

That is, if Nikolai Shershun wanted to work in the forestry enterprise, could he really stay there?

Certainly. But he made his choice, and therefore the President invited me for an interview. He outlined for me the directions and tasks that I should implement. First of all, this is an increase in forest areas. This year we have already created 40 thousand hectares of new plantings. The President said that it is necessary to tighten control and prevent illegal timber trafficking. The task was also set to unite all forests in one hand, taking them to the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Agrarian and Industrial Complex. Now this work is entering an active phase, and by the end of this year we will be able to take control of all interdepartmental forests.

Of course, the task was to create all conditions for the development of medium and large woodworking businesses in Ukraine. So that over time we completely abandon the export of roundwood, and, on the contrary, import it.

There are often accusations in the media that it is at auctions that wood is sold at such prices that only exporters can buy it. Are you talking about the development of your manufacturer...

I can reassure you that domestic auctions do not allow even the slightest possibility that one of the exporters would buy round wood and took him out of the territory of Ukraine. Even if some company has Ukrainian registration, took part in an auction and bought round timber, then in order to export it they need to instruct the forestry department to load the timber into wagons and send it to the western border or, for example, to the port of Odessa. As soon as such an order is received by the forestry enterprise from the company, the contract is immediately terminated.

The forestry enterprise is a very specific structure; its leaders often change. First, the communist Tymoshenko was the leader, then in 2010 the Litvinovite Shershun, and now you. Why is this happening? Is it because even Tymoshenko himself, while in office, once said that the price of the post was $250 million?



Compared to other ministries and departments, our leaders work for a very long time. Under President Yushchenko, the situation in the country was politically unstable. There were constant problems and political changes, constant elections. Naturally, there were changes in management.

But during the year of Yanukovych’s presidency, the leadership was also changed twice...

I repeat once again that Nikolai Shershun would have continued to work if he had not wanted to remain in parliament.

Nikolai Kharitonovich, like any industry leader, always did something positive. This applies to all my predecessors. We remember that last year there were colossal forest fires in Russia. Thanks to President Yanukovych and the work of the forest guard, we managed to avoid such shocks. Ukraine cannot afford to have two million hectares of forest burned in one summer. We only have 10 million of them.

Did Shershun also introduce the auctions that you hold?

We started this work back in 2007 to fulfill the instructions of the Prime Minister, when I was head of the Forestry Committee. Then we completely removed all questions on the market and accusations against our structures, and proved their effectiveness.

“They are not fighting corruption in the Leskhoz”

Are auctions a panacea in the fight against corruption?

You know, it’s not the Forestry Agency that fights corruption, it’s the law enforcement agencies that deal with it. For this purpose there are the police, the SBU, the prosecutor's office and the environmental prosecutor's office. Our task is to control economic activity and conduct forestry. The industry employs 60 thousand people and, unfortunately, we live in the same environment that the rest of society lives in. In any industry there are good people, bad people, and greedy people. We are a cross-section of society.

When you read about you in the media, you will definitely find a story about a corruption scandal dating back to 2007. Then a letter from the heads of regional forestry departments addressed to the President was made public, in which you were accused of corruption schemes for selling wood at reduced prices to a certain German company Alexis. They talked about kickbacks for you in the amount of 36 million dollars. How did it all end then, what happened to the heads of regional departments?

When work is going on and you achieve a positive result, some people have serious negative emotions. As for that letter, it was not signed by any of the heads of departments. It was anonymous, last names were put there, but people were taken from the street who signed for them. The letter was sent to the SBU, the prosecutor's office, the police, the President and the Prime Minister. When the leaders were invited to a conversation, they said that they had not written such a thing.

Naturally, after this there were a lot of inspections that destabilized the work of the industry. It all ended in nothing; not even a single criminal case was opened on this issue. When you do something good, no one notices, but when they throw mud at you, in a civilized society they find the authors of the provocation and call them to responsibility. We didn't find it.



I am sure that similar letters will be written now; they probably already do. I said that product sales increased by 560 million hryvnia. If in 2010 no less forest was cut down, nothing has changed, then somewhere this money ended up, someone earned it for themselves...

The trends in the industry are encouraging, but, for example, if you walk through the Carpathians, you immediately notice that only stumps remain of huge areas of forest. The same situation is in the forests near Kyiv. How to deal with this?

I can't answer specifically, and you can't exactly show these areas. I cannot take responsibility that this is the fault of our enterprises. Unfortunately, there are many agricultural and military forestry enterprises. And the negative impact of their work falls on forestry. People don't see the difference between agriculture and forestry. Now we are doing everything possible to ensure that the entire forest is in one hand.

The second point is that we are currently conducting monitoring. Unfortunately, a lot of military and agricultural forests have been cut down. No one planted trees there or did any farming.

As for forestry in the Carpathians, enormous amounts of money need to be invested in the construction of forest roads. When the infrastructure is in place, modern environmentally friendly safe technology, which does not damage the soil. Then natural regeneration of forests will take place. We are now planning such events; we recently received 100 million hryvnia, with which we will definitely buy equipment for the construction of forest roads.

We planned that Viktor Yanukovych would have 35% in the elections in Kyiv

Viktor Nikolaevich, during the 2010 presidential elections you headed the election headquarters of Viktor Yanukovych in Kyiv. Then many media outlets wrote that after the elections you expected to become the head of the Kyiv City State Administration and take over the leadership of the capital. Why didn't this happen? Were you pushed aside at the last moment?

Indeed, I was the head of the headquarters in Kyiv. I highly appreciate the President’s trust that he entrusted me, a person who had never taken part in elections, to head the headquarters. I didn’t think about positions then. I dreamed of one thing: for Viktor Yanukovych to become President. Unlike many people, I manage to know him not just as a politician, but as a decent and highly moral person. I understood that this was the only chance to get such a President. I and the people who worked with me did everything possible to achieve results in Kyiv. I had no more desires.



And what they said about the possibility of my appointment to the Kyiv City State Administration... Believe me, not a single person set conditions for candidate Yanukovych: “You will become President, and who will I be?”

Nevertheless, during the election campaign they were counting on something: they wanted to stay in the Kyiv City State Administration and go to the forestry enterprise again. How did you plan for the future?

I tell you sincerely. I became an official high level, having created a powerful enterprise that, without any lobbying, achieved success due to high quality, good organization and competitive prices. I am a self-sufficient person.

Are you satisfied with Yanukovych’s result in Kyiv in the second round - 25% or more?

27%. 26.8% to be exact.

During the presidential elections we had no access to the media

There was talk that you promised Yanukovych 30%...

We planned that we would have 35%. And all the opinion polls confirmed this. It’s just that the amount of dirt that was poured on the candidate Yanukovych, and the hysteria that was whipped up in Kyiv, when well-known posters discrediting Yanukovych were pasted on every pillar, played a role. We remember how Yuriy Lutsenko put up portraits and what was written there. On all pillars and entrances. Naturally, this dirt reduced our result.

But I want to say that I am calm about the result. We did what we could, being in opposition, and achieved results. We had no access to the media, nothing. The police worked against us in the city. We were not given the opportunity to hold mass events.

Wow, the opposition: the entire Kiev government, the Kiev TV channel and the entire communal infrastructure...

You understand perfectly well what the Kiev TV channel is and what its ratings are.

The Inter TV channel was a platform for presidential candidates not only Yanukovych. Tymoshenko also spoke there. In fact, we saw that Kyiv’s rating is very low. We were grateful that Dzhangirov, who was a truly talented and wise journalist, was the editor-in-chief at that time. He allowed us, at least through the Kiev TV channel, to reach people.

Do you know that at that time the head of the city TV channel, Dmitry Dzhangirov, worked at the headquarters of the Party of Regions?

Certainly. How could I not know this if I headed the Kyiv headquarters?

Chernovetsky came to work at 12 noon, and by 5 pm no one could find him anywhere. And on Friday he was no longer there. Returned only on Tuesday at lunchtime

Now the post of head of the Kyiv City State Administration and the mayor elected by the people is divided. You were Chernovetsky’s deputy, the Kyiv authorities worked for Yanukovych’s election campaign. And now the elected mayor has been deprived of real powers. Doesn't this seem unfair to Chernovetsky?

I'll give you a simple example. When the “mayor elected by the people of Kiev” comes to work at 12 noon, and at 5 pm no one can find him anywhere, then this is an indicator of the effectiveness of his work.

Did this happen often?

This is not often, it has always been like this. This is his usual practice. And on Friday he was no longer there, because he flew abroad on vacation. I returned only on Tuesday at lunchtime. The city cannot operate in this mode. Naturally, there was a need for a division of powers in order to take responsibility. After all, no one stopped him, and there were all the opportunities to build interchanges and subways, but no one did it.



Who really led the city if Chernovetsky was at work on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, and then for four hours at a time?

This will be determined by law enforcement agencies. Those who were in charge, criminal cases have already been opened against them.

Cases have been filed against his team, but should Chernovetsky himself be held responsible for the theft of billions of dollars? Billions have been stolen, but no one touches the mayor, is this correct?

There is a secret investigation, operational activities are taking place. This is a question for the prosecutor’s office about the fate of Chernovetsky.

Were you personally summoned for questioning as a witness, since you have also been Chernovetsky’s deputy since 2008?

To be called as a witness, you must take part in some business. I didn’t do anything like that, I couldn’t tarnish the honor of our leader, Viktor Yanukovych. Therefore, he did not participate in any dubious matters.

To your place law enforcement agencies no complaints?

Believe me, if there was something, it would have become known long ago.

When Chernovetsky represented you as a deputy in 2008, he said the phrase: “Take him seriously, he is going to rid Kyiv of many factories.” What have you done in this direction? And in general, what did you do besides the presidential elections and the fight against alcohol and cigarettes in kiosks?

Chernovetsky is very talented as an entrepreneur, but many of his statements struck many people, not only about me. Kyiv at one time was a powerful industrial city, but after the collapse of the Union, ties between the republics were broken, military orders stopped. Many enterprises, such as the Radikal plant, pose an environmental threat. We have been addressing these issues, but the city alone cannot cope with this. Serious funds are needed to reclaim these areas and remove waste. Besides, how can you evict enterprises when 95% of them are private property? They can only be evicted by buying them out. Therefore, Chernovetsky’s statement was quite thoughtless.

What else have you been doing?

My task was to increase industrial production in Kyiv. At one time, we analyzed the situation and found out that $24 billion worth of products are imported to the capital, and it is consumed. We produce only 4 billion. We have the opportunity to create conditions for production for the sales market in Kyiv for 24 billion dollars. This concept was developed to attract investment here.



When the crisis occurred in 2008 and Leonid Mikhailovich began to sing, it was also a difficult period of work in the city.

How did this manifest itself, did he not go to work at all?

On the contrary, he began to actively follow it and come up with various “schemes for making money.” Then, due to the crisis, we had acute shortage funds, especially regarding gas payments. Leonid Mikhailovich came up with the idea that it was necessary to take money from every dog ​​and cat and charge for air conditioners. Businessmen, if they wanted to do something, had to pay money for lunch, and the deputies had to collect these businessmen.

Have you been doing this?

No, I didn't study. I then told Leonid Mikhailovich that this would bring us nothing but negativity.

Was it obvious to you that after the elections Yanukovych would remove Chernovetsky from the leadership of the city? Was what happened previously planned?

No, there was no such plan. Every person has a chance in life. No one stopped Leonid Mikhailovich from pulling himself together and starting to work. But... It's a very big problem when billionaires manage. They have no incentive to develop. Chernovetsky has a fortune of more than a billion dollars, he had absolute power in the city. But problems arise: pipes break, hospitals need to be given something, salaries need to be paid, transport needs to be updated, the city needs to be developed. Naturally, the leader must be a person who adequately perceives reality, who has the incentive and desire to work. He had no such desire.

You don't speak very well of Chernovetsky. How did it happen that you were appointed his deputy? Was this an agreement between him and the Party of Regions?

In 2008 there were early elections. After them, a vacancy arose for a deputy who is involved in industry. The Party of Regions nominated me for this position.

Was this already done with an eye to the presidential elections?

Smart people plan everything in advance.

By the way, do you know Alexander Prognimak?

Do you have any community projects or interests with him?

Information simply appeared on the Internet about what you had with him common interests, when the lands of Zhukovy Island were divided….

... (laughs) I've never heard anything like this before. I can say absolutely frankly that I do not have any land plots or anything in the city of Kyiv. Moreover, I am not a partner with anyone, either on Zhukovy Island or anything else.

Klitschko may be even worse than Chernovetsky

Viktor Nikolaevich, you worked for some time at the Kyiv City State Administration and under the leadership of Alexander Popov. How can you evaluate his work?

First of all, Alexander Pavlovich brings order to Kyiv. What is happening now: lands, real estate and corporate rights are being returned - these are his achievements. We see that interchanges, subways and bridges are being built in Kyiv. A foundation is being created on the basis of which illegally allocated plots of land will be sold at auction. This will bring additional funds to the city. I believe that Popov is one of the best specialists in the country for housing and communal services. And this area in Kyiv is in a deplorable state.



I am now scared that the people of Kiev will elect as mayor in 2012 a person who will turn out to be even worse than Leonid Chernovetsky. This really scares me.

Does such a person even exist?

There is already such a candidate.

And who do you think this is?

Do you mean Tymoshenko?

Do you think Vitali Klitschko is even worse than Chernovetsky?

Yes. You see, a person succeeds in sports, he does it, but stays in Ukraine for a maximum of five days a month. When he appears, he makes two or three statements, and it looks very beautiful. I think that a person who plays sports can make an excellent coach. But when this person has to take responsibility for a city of a million people, having absolutely no experience in working or running urban affairs, it scares me.

We already have a precedent with the excellent entrepreneur Leonid Mikhailovich Chernovetsky. He created the most powerful Pravex bank system, no one denies this. He knows how to organize finances, but when he became the mayor, he got lost. The same will happen with Vitali Klitschko.

“The authorities in California are not working and are not able to restore order”

Why do you underestimate Vitali Klitschko so much? In the USA, Arnold Schwarzenegger recently became governor, and it’s okay, people live. The main thing is that a person is able to organize work...

I want to tell you that you cannot compare the USA and Ukraine. You can't compare Schwarzenegger and Klitschko. This is absolutely two different situations. We did not analyze how it was before and how it became. I think that nothing good comes from his management. In California, large-scale fires occur year after year, a lot of forest burns, but the situation does not change. This indicates that the authorities in California are not working and are not able to restore order.

In the same way, with my great respect for Klitschko as an athlete, it will be with his leadership of the city. As someone who was born in Kyiv, before becoming the chairman of the forestry committee, I worked as a deputy for a year and delved into the essence of the problems. Believe me, such a metropolis as Kyiv is beyond Klitschko’s strength.

Why such feelings? Even if Klitschko is elected, then Popov will remain the head of the Kyiv City State Administration, and the situation will not change...

Even with the current division, the chief of staff leads only the executive branch. And the budget, the adoption of session decisions, their signing are what determine the life of the city, within the powers of the mayor. Further, the work of the heads of utility companies, such as Kievpastrans and Kievenergo, is also the competence of the mayor; he appoints them. If desired, the mayor can completely destabilize the work.

Suppose, if Popov wins the elections, autocracy will be returned to the city, the division between the head of the Kyiv City State Administration and the mayor will be removed?

If he wins the election, he will become mayor. And the President will simply appoint him head of the Kyiv City State Administration. There will be no dual power.

There is no more qualified person than Popov for this position.