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  • Ukraine's Main Opposition Bloc Publishes Electoral List

    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.
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