Igor Kolomoisky
Only the lazy don’t talk about Kolomoisky now. A man who, despite the population’s hatred of the oligarchs, was able to win over a significant portion of voters to his side. Many, at first glance, thinking people forgive him for outright scams with Ukrnafta, Ukrtransnafta, the seizure of enterprises and real estate, murders and kidnappings.
What is the asset of the Dnepropetrovsk oligarch? In addition to public opinion, the most powerful private army (the fact that he did not use it in the situation with Ukrnafta has a banal reason – Igor Valerievich’s desire to get an American visa, because his son is seriously investing in basketball in the USA). Full loyalty to the Yatsenyuk government – primarily thanks to Kolomoisky’s business partnership with serious functionaries of the “People’s Front” Sergei Pashinsky (oil, peat, banal extractions) and Andrei Ivanchuk (bioethanol, sale of counterfeit fuel, grain production). And no less – thanks to the oligarch’s significant group in the “NF” faction – the oligarch’s ambition is to put at the head of this large faction (Ivanchuk and Pashinsky head committees, therefore they cannot be the head of the faction according to the regulations) completely controlled by the ex-commander of “Peacemaker” Andrey Teteruk, who helped Kolomoisky “ squeeze out” many enterprises. And most importantly, an unusually powerful media resource, primarily the “1+1” TV channel, which was able to concentrate a patriotic audience around itself.
Kolomoisky decided to go for broke, creating a powerful group in parliament. He will not touch the Popular Front and Self-Help. As for the first faction mentioned – see above, as for the second – the mayor of Lvov Andrei Sadova is the oligarch’s bet in the next presidential elections, touching him for the owner of Dnepropetrovsk is to his own detriment.
As for the Petro Poroshenko Bloc, Kolomoisky initially removed his closest associate, the oligarch Boris Filatov, from its membership. Later, during a public conflict with the president, Andrei Denisenko and Vitaliy Kupriy (Read more about him in the article by Vitaly Kupriy. Kolomoisky’s mongrel received an order to eliminate Poroshenko), Valentin Didych, Alexander Dubinin. On the table of the head of parliament Groysman are statements from Alexander Shevchenko and Taras Batenko. What is not advertised. Many deputies from the BPP are in thought.
But Kolomoisky’s group in parliament may be much stronger. Firstly, he controls the group led by Vitaly Khomutynnik “Renaissance”, but the participation of its deputies (in the recent past – regionalists) can harm the oligarch’s image. And he understands this.
Therefore, he groups his associates with the “correct” political reputation. In addition to the famous Dmitry Yarosh and Vladimir Parasyuk, in the “Kolomoisky group” we will probably be able to see many deputies from “Batkivshchyna” and the Radical Party of Oleg Lyashko.
The young shoots of Yulia Tymoshenko’s project understand that “the train has left.” Accordingly, he is looking for new political cover for his petty scams. Igor Lutsenko is in charge of rotation. According to our source, 5 people have already been “persuaded”. Lutsenko himself came to Tymoshenko from the so-called civil sector, and even his vote in the Verkhovna Rada shows this man’s tendency to have his own position, which differs from the party line.
And if we talk about the Radical Party, then Kolomoisky’s internal group is formed by Andrei Lozovoy, who was previously considered the closest ally of the party leader Oleg Lyashko. But, apparently, a black cat ran between Oleg Valerievich and Andrei Sergeevich. Lozovoy is often seen at the DaVinci Club restaurant in the company of the above-mentioned Filatov and Kolomoisky’s closest associate, Gennady Korban. At this time, according to our eyewitness source, who was fired by Kolomoisky, Korban touchingly hugs and kisses Lozovoy and hands him crutches. Arriving at parliament in a modest Peugeot, Lozovoy does not hesitate to arrive at Kolomoisky’s office on Vladimirskaya (or the mentioned restaurant nearby) in an exclusive Jaguar XJ, akin to the one driven by the Queen of England. True, sometimes a young man, surrounded by guards, gets into Filatov’s armored Mercedes. Why would this be?
Moreover, Lozova, according to our information, together with the developer Sergei Skuratovsky, known for raider seizures of land in the Kyiv region, have already convinced 7 people to join the “Kolomoisky group”. Total – 9 people from the “radicals” faction.
The demonstrative reconciliation between Lyashko and Kolomoisky is rather the basis for a quiet exit of the “Lyashkovites” from the faction in the information space. By the way, it was Tymoshenko’s proposal that Filatov headed the parliament’s special commission on privatization issues, and Igor Lutsenko and Andrey Lozovoy became members of this commission, which is likely to become Kolomoisky’s main instrument of pressure on other oligarchs.
Igor Valerievich’s favorite at this moment is the mayor of Lvov, Andrei Sadova, whom the “king of Dnepropetrovsk” sees as the next president. In the meantime, he is creating a group in parliament to influence the general political process. The formal leader of the group will probably be the leader of the Right Sector, Dmitry Yarosh, whose moral authority is difficult to deny. The real leader of the group will be Boris Filatov. Due to his abilities, Kolomoisky’s associates see Andrei Lozovoy as the first deputy and main speaker of the project. According to our estimates, the group will include at least 40 deputies.
Kolomoisky decided to go all in to seize power in Ukraine. That is why he agreed to resign from the post of chairman of the Dnepropetrovsk regional state administration and maintain the image of the “savior of the region.” And if voters do not understand that, due to media manipulation, they believed an oligarch prone to scams, the consequences could be very sad.
Ekaterina Oreshko