“The unturned page of the 1990s is Ukraine’s Achilles’ heel”

Following the most experienced muckraker journalists’ decision to take part in the parliamentary election, their place has been promptly taken by new people. Over the past few weeks, we have seen several attempts to urge the society to think soberly. We offer the three most prominent examples in this article.

Ihor Kolomoisky told the 5th Channel’s reporter Larysa Hubina: “Viktor Pinchuk has never been a real oligarch, while Leonid Kuchma has been one, indeed.” His testimony at a London court is full of interesting detail as well.

Mykhailo Brodsky got into news after the “lustration,” as he said right after his dismissal as head of State Committee of Ukraine for Regulatory Policy and Entrepreneurship in an interview with Ukrinform: “I have a question, however: Would not it be advi­sable to lustrate Kuchma or Pinchuk, or all those who served in Kuchma’s cabinets and plundered the country? Just look at the list of MPs who voted for the lustration law, a lot of them had belonged to the Party of Regions, but they defected, changed allegiance and voted in favor of the measure. They lustrated me! Read the names, Volo­dymyr Zubyk was among those voting to lustrate me, even though he had founded the notorious Livela smuggling company, been very active in the provinces, made money illegally under Kuchma and Viktor Yushchenko, and under every administration, as he had been just a common smuggler. Do I have to read the rest of the list for you? Well, just look at Yakov Bezbakh, who is Pinchuk’s tool, but he lustrated me as well. They purged me from the government, but stayed there themselves. Are crime bosses subject to the lustration as well? They are clearly not,” Brodsky said.

Here is another interesting quote from the same interview: “Oh, boy, you have bought Ukrtelecom? Then tell us, please, is not Viktor Yanukovych a shareholder in it now, by chance? You have retained English attorneys? Very well, let them swear on the Bible in an English court that it is all like it seems to be, and there are no hidden beneficiaries. More to it, you have purchased a regional electricity distributor? If Yanukovych had nothing to do with it, it is all great and good. Otherwise, you should return it where it belongs. The same should be done to everything else that was privatized under Yanuko­vych. If he or his thugs even got a penny worth of shares, it all should be returned. Therefore, we need a full disclosure, and it will be fair then. I would like, though, to have a full disclosure of everything done by Kuchma and Pinchuk. They are no different... Let us forgive Kryvorizhstal even. An attempt to steal five billion dollars ended without lustration. Were any thieves lustrated? The theft was proven by the court, and the plant was then sold for a real price. Who was punished? And this was the problem, leading to bad things keeping happening. Crimes involving public money should be excluded from the statute of limitations, much as murder is.”

Later on, Dmytro Firtash joined the ranks of muckrakers as well. Commenting the London trial for LB.ua, the businessman said: “You obviously realize that this trial is a Pandora’s box. Both parties have already provided the evidence of both of them engaging in corrupt dealings as they abused their government connections. Hence, Ukrainian prosecutors ought, nay, must look at the past record again and investigate the conditions and circumstances under which they acquired what they own now. Sometimes, we see people activating a self-destruction mode. This trial is just such a case, in my opinion.”

When we were writing the article “Road to War. Ukrainian contribution. Part 1” for The Day, we pointed out that this country, in fact, had become an easy victim of the Kremlin. One of the reasons that prompted Vladimir Putin’s aggression, making him confident that we would be unable to resist, was this unturned page of the 1990s, the conditions of the big business formation in Ukraine. Every experienced “magician” knows that the real miracles are done behind the scenes... It must be kept in mind by our young politicians who are now entering the parliament, for those who are now being exposed by muckrakers will stay in the assembly as well!

Dmytro FIRTASH told LB.ua about the London trial involving Pinchuk and Kolomoisky:

“You obviously realize that that this trial is a Pandora’s box. Both parties have already provided the evidence of both of them engaging in corrupt dealings as they abused their government connections. Hence, Ukrainian prosecutors ought, nay, must look at the past record again and investigate the conditions and circumstances under which they acquired what they own now. Sometimes, we see people activating a self-destruction mode. This trial is just such a case, in my opinion.”

Larysa IVSHYNA, The Day’s editor-in-chief:

“A Pandora’s box or Augean stables... Or a Gordian knot... In any case, the unturned page of the 1990s is a problem for the country, its Achilles’ heel. Pu­tin understands this, and this was why he attacked. In short, we need at least seven labors of Hercules. Otherwise, Ukraine itself will turn into a myth...”