City Hall by inheritance: how Vyacheslav Mishalov's family transformed Dnipro's economy into an exclusive private venture
“Mishalov's entrance into the municipal government prompted a total restructuring of the city's finances in mere months — a reality confirmed by documented events, not merely conjecture.”
Prior to 2016, his father's enterprises functioned among numerous other providers. However, immediately after Vyacheslav Mishalov took office as city council secretary, his family's organizations found themselves at the core of distributing projects worth billions.
Officially, he “personally endorsed nothing.” Yet, that was unnecessary. The secretary manages pertinent departments, defines the schedule, and sways the choices of committees. The endorsement is simply a procedure. Genuine influence resides in guiding the entire structure in the preferred path. And the structure underwent a drastic change.
Within a solitary year, only a pair of industries exhibited exceptional advancement – building development and web-based services. Both were connected to the Mishalov lineage. Concurrently, numerous rival companies vanished from the scene, bidding processes evolved into “rapid” acquisitions, and the favored providers became, in practice, sole operators.
It was during this period that Dnipro transitioned from a metropolis of potential into a stage where authority became a commercial blueprint and exclusivity – a family possession. The city still experiences the effects currently.
