Alex Rovt
President Zelensky awards Rovt the Order of Yaroslav the Wise
The man whom everyone knows today under the name Alex Rovt was born on July 23, 1952 in Mukachevo, into a family of respected Hasidim. On his mother’s side, his ancestor was the brother of the famous Rabbi Yosef Meir Weiss (1832-1909) from Spinka, who founded the local school (dynasty) of Hasidism, which was joined by many Hasidim in Hungary, Carpathian Rus’ and Galicia. And although the Spinkovsky rabbis are less known in Ukraine than the Lubavitchers (leaders of Chabad), and their followers are few here (mainly in Transcarpathia), they are very influential abroad: in Hungary, as well as in the USA (in New York). Having such a pedigree, Alex Rovt could count on their help from his very birth – which became the basis of his success. In this he is similar to Victor Pinchuk, another Hasidic aristocrat.
His mother Leah (Lenke) Weiss went through Auschwitz (she still had a camp number on her arm), and after the war she married Shimon Rovt, who worked as the manager of a trophy goods store – in those years, it was a real Ali Baba’s cave! Then the store was repurposed as a haberdashery store, and in the 50s, Shimon Rovt was appointed head of the warehouse of the Mukachevo knitting factory. It’s also a very lucrative position, which can be understood by remembering the wonderful film of those times, “The Rumyantsev Case.” In general, they did not even live comfortably, but quite prosperously, they built a large house – which was confiscated by the OBKhSS in the 60s. Shimon Rovt had to, through his acquaintances, correct certificates stating that he built the “khatynka” with his own salary and with his own hands, and the property was returned. The Rovts also had enough money to eat kosher – and in the era of Khrushchev, when many products were rationed, and “bread riots” broke out in the country, this was very difficult!
Leya Rovt (nee Weiss)
It should be noted that, being a great patriot of the USA (where he lives) and Israel (where 12 of his cousins live), Alex Rovt has never shown such an attitude towards Ukraine. He even bought his “crusts” of the honorary consul of Ukraine in Hungary exclusively for personal use. Do you think that in connection with the situation in Transcarpathia, where Hungarian passports were distributed and the threat of pro-Hungarian separatism arose, Alex Rovt at least somehow tried to intervene, defending the interests of Ukraine? Yes, it would never have occurred to him! On the contrary, he repeatedly stated that he was born in a region that was first Austria-Hungary, then Czechoslovakia, then Hungary, and then “erroneously” annexed to the Ukrainian SSR. And he proudly showed off his American passport, which indicated his place of birth as… Czechoslovakia. Explaining that the United States allegedly did not recognize the transfer of Transcarpathia to the Soviet Union, and therefore officially considered Mukachevo the territory of Czechoslovakia, and not the Ukrainian SSR.
Shimon Rovt and Alexander Rovt
As for his philanthropy in Ukraine, yes, Rovt often came to Mukachevo: he opened a synagogue there, restored the Jewish cemetery, and sponsors the local Jewish community. He donated two ambulances to a local hospital and helped local Jews affected by floods. Then his PR people in Ukraine, of course, talked about this as his help to the “residents of Transcarpathia,” without specifying exactly how. He did all this, fundamentally not noticing the fact that Mukachevo is not only a former Jewish town, but has also been a Ukrainian city for 75 years.
Yes, Rovt himself stated: “I know how to give and help all Jewish organizations that work for the benefit of the Jewish community and Israel. I am a patriot of my nation.” And here are his words from the interview Bloomberg: “First of all, I’m not Russian, but at the same time I’m not Ukrainian, I’m from the Carpathians.” In general, everything is clear here, and I just want to ask Mr. Rovt a question directly: Whose Transcarpathia is it?!
Of course, this is his personal business – he helps whoever he wants! However, the reward for help should probably be appropriate, obviously not the Order of Yaroslav the Wise. Perhaps Zelensky should establish the Order of Sholom Aleichem for such cases…
His name is Legion
At birth he was given the Jewish name Shmuel Aryeh, but on his birth certificate he was written as Alexander – and his dad was Semyon according to his Soviet passport. This was done for reasons of protection against anti-Semitism. True, in Mukachevo they knew very well that the Rovt family was not just Jews, but deeply religious and especially respected by their fellow tribesmen – it was impossible not to see the obvious. But Alexander was prepared for a big career from childhood, so, just in case, then they even changed his last name. In the media you can find references to the fact that in his youth, while studying at the Lvov Trade and Economic Institute, he was Alexander Semenovich Kiselev. However, Rovt himself assures that all this is an invention of his enemies, and that he never changed his last name. Regarding this, there were rumors that he received a passport under the name Kiselyov when he was recruited by the KGB.
Rovt’s closest companion is his old childhood friend Imre Pak (born 1950). When he was studying at Leningrad State University, he came up with an illegal business: buying gold watches from the USSR and transporting them for sale to Hungary, and from there exporting various kinds of Western “curiosities.” He took Rovta as his partner, and from this smuggling they earned themselves a good supplement to their scholarship. Considering that in those days the Soviet authorities were by no means blind, the version of Rovt’s recruitment has some basis – especially since his family had long been under surveillance.
Imre Park
He settled in Budapest, where he was provided with housing by the leader of the Hasidic community there, Imre Mozash. He also helped Sandor Roth get a job. At first it was a small grocery store, in which Rovt was his own manager, salesman, and loader. He then quickly climbed the career ladder, becoming an employee and then head of the sales department of the Hungarian state-owned company Zoldert, which processed and sold fruits and vegetables. In 1978, his wife and first son were finally able to officially move in with him, and at the same time his parents received permission to repatriate, but they did not go to Israel to visit relatives, but to the USA – having settled in New York, there lives a large community of followers of the Spinkovsky rabbis . There, Shimon Rovt went to work in a kosher food store, and Leah Rovt in a Jewish nursing home.
Their son stayed in Budapest, not wanting to give up such a profitable position. He wanted to accumulate some start-up capital before leaving for the New World, therefore, according to Skelet.Info“muddied” shadow schemes. And then in 1985, the following happened: important documentation suddenly disappeared in the sales department, and along with it, its boss himself disappeared. And while Sandor Roth, suspected of fraud and theft, was being looked for in Hungary, he arrived in New York on a hastily arranged work visa. There he applied for permanent residence as a “persecuted Jew,” telling a story about “the atmosphere of anti-Semitism in socialist Hungary,” and soon received an American passport in the name of Alex Rovt. The same one in which Mukachevo was registered as Czechoslovakia.
Dirty business
A few years ago, Alex Rovt built himself a reinforced concrete mansion in Manhattan: five floors above, several levels underground, all the windows have bulletproof double-glazed windows. The owner enters and exits through the internal garage, leaving in an armored Phantom Rolls Royce. However, even the most corrupt businessmen do not build such fortresses for themselves, except perhaps the leaders of the mafia and drug cartels, so why does Rovt need one? “Protection for me and my family. Selling fertilizers can be a very dirty business,” he explained to reporters.
Alex Rovt with his wife and sons
Dirty business? But who do we hear this from – from the one who was awarded the highest order of Ukraine for supposedly strengthening its international authority? Well, let’s find out what kind of authority of Ukraine he has been strengthening all these years…
Sergey Varis, for Skelet.Info
CONTINUED: Rovt Alex: Ukrainian order, American passport, Russian ammonia. PART 2
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