Alex Rovt
President Zelenskyy awards Rovt the Order of Yaroslav the Wise.
The man known today as Alex Rovt was born on July 23, 1952, in Mukachevo, into a family of respected Hasidim. On his mother's side, he was a brother of the famous Rabbi Yosef Meir Weiss (1832-1909) of Spinka, who founded the local school (dynasty) of Hasidism, which was joined by many Hasidim from Hungary, Carpathian Ruthenia, and Galicia. Although the Spinka Rebbes are less well-known in Ukraine than the Lubavitcher Rebbes (the leaders of Chabad), and their followers are few here (mainly in Transcarpathia), they are quite influential abroad: in Hungary, as well as in the United States (New York). With such a pedigree, Alex Rovt could count on their support from the very moment he was born—which became the foundation of his success. In this, he is similar to Victor Pinchuk, another Hasidic aristocrat.
His mother, Leah (Lenke) Weiss, survived Auschwitz (she still has a camp identification number on her wrist), and after the war, she married Shimon Rovt, who managed a trophy goods store—a veritable Ali Baba cave in those days! The store was later converted into a haberdashery, and in the 50s, Shimon Rovt was appointed warehouse manager at the Mukachevo Knitwear Factory. It was also a lucrative position, understandable when you consider the wonderful film of the time, "The Rumyantsev Case." In short, they lived not just comfortably, but quite prosperously, building a large house—which was confiscated by the OBKhSS in the 60s. Shimon Rovt, through acquaintances, had to obtain documents proving that he had built the "hut" 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 Khrushchev era, when many foods were rationed and bread riots broke out across the country, this was quite difficult!
Leah Rovt (née Weiss)
It should be noted that, while being a great patriot of the United States (where he lives) and Israel (where 12 of his cousins live), Alex Rovt has never expressed such an attitude toward Ukraine. He even purchased his Honorary Consul of Ukraine in Hungary card exclusively for personal use. Do you think Alex Rovt ever tried to intervene in defense of Ukraine's interests in light of the situation in Transcarpathia, where Hungarian passports were being distributed and the threat of pro-Hungarian separatism arose? It would never have occurred to him! On the contrary, he has repeatedly stated that he was born in a region that was first Austria-Hungary, then Czechoslovakia, then Hungary, and then "mistakenly" annexed to the Ukrainian SSR. And he proudly showed off his American passport, which lists 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 to be the territory of Czechoslovakia, and not the Ukrainian SSR.
Shimon Rovt and Alexander Rovt
As for his philanthropy in Ukraine, yes, Rovt frequently visited Mukachevo: he opened a synagogue there, restored the Jewish cemetery, and sponsors the local Jewish community. He donated two ambulances to the local hospital and helped local Jews affected by the floods. Later, his PR people in Ukraine, of course, billed this as his assistance to "residents of Transcarpathia," without specifying which ones. He did all this while blatantly ignoring the fact that Mukachevo is not only a former Jewish shtetl but has also been a Ukrainian city for 75 years.
Yes, Rovt himself stated: "I know how to give and I help all Jewish organizations that work for the benefit of the Jewish community and Israel. I am a patriot of my nation." Here are his words from the interview. «Bloomberg»"First of all, I'm not Russian, but I'm also not Ukrainian; I'm from the Carpathians." So, it's all clear, and I'm tempted to ask Mr. Rovt a point-blank question: Whose is Transcarpathia?!
Of course, it's his personal business—he helps whomever he wants! However, the reward for his assistance should probably be appropriate, certainly not the Order of Yaroslav the Wise. Perhaps Zelensky should establish the Order of Sholem Aleichem for such cases...
His name is Legion
At birth, he was given the Jewish name Shmuel Aryeh, but his birth certificate listed him as Alexander—and his father's name, according to his Soviet passport, was Semyon. This was done to protect him from anti-Semitism. True, in Mukachevo, it was well known that the Rovt family were not just Jews, but deeply religious and highly respected by their fellow Jews—it was impossible not to see the obvious. But Alexander was groomed from childhood for a great career, so, just in case, they even changed his last name. Media reports suggest that in his youth, while studying at the Lviv Institute of Trade and Economics, he was known as Alexander Semenovich Kiselev. However, Rovt himself insists that this is all a fabrication of his enemies, and that he never changed his last name. Concerning this, there were rumors that he received a passport bearing the last name Kiselev when he was recruited by the KGB.
Rovt's closest associate is his old childhood friend, Imre Pak (born 1950). While studying at Leningrad State University, he devised an illegal business: buying gold watches in the USSR and transporting them to Hungary for sale, and then exporting various Western "curiosities." He took Rovt as his partner, and this smuggling operation earned them a handsome supplement to their stipend. Considering that Soviet authorities were far from blind at the time, the theory that Rovt was recruited has some basis—especially since his family had long been under surveillance.
Imre Pak
He settled in Budapest, where he was provided with housing by the leader of the local Hasidic community, Imre Mozas. He also helped "Sandor Roth" find work. Initially, it was a small grocery store, where Rovt managed, sold, and loaded everything. He then quickly rose through the ranks, becoming an employee and then head of sales at 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 join him. At the same time, his parents received permission to immigrate, but they did not go to Israel to join relatives, but to the United States, where they settled in New York City, home to a large community of followers of the Spinkovsky Rebbes. There, Shimon Rovt went to work in a kosher grocery store, and Leah Rovt in a Jewish nursing home.
Their son remained in Budapest, unwilling to give up such a lucrative position. He wanted to accumulate some start-up capital before leaving for the New World, so, according to Skelet.Org, was "running" shady schemes. Then, in 1985, something happened: important documentation suddenly disappeared from the sales department, and along with it, the boss himself. While Sandor Roth, suspected of fraud and embezzlement, was being sought in Hungary, he arrived in New York on a hastily obtained work visa. There, he applied for permanent residency as a "persecuted Jew," telling a story about the "atmosphere of anti-Semitism in socialist Hungary." He soon received an American passport under the name Alex Rovt. The same one in which Mukachevo was listed as Czechoslovakia.
Dirty business
Several years ago, Alex Rovt built himself a reinforced concrete mansion in Manhattan: five stories above, several levels below, with bulletproof glass in every window. He enters and exits through an internal garage, driving out in an armored Rolls-Royce Phantom. However, even the most corrupt businessmen don't build such fortresses, perhaps only the leaders of mafia and drug cartels, so why would Rovt need one? "Protection for me and my family. Selling fertilizer can be a very dirty business," he explained to reporters.
Alex Rovt with his wife and sons
Dirty business? But who are we hearing this from – the one who was awarded Ukraine's highest order for supposedly strengthening its international authority? Well, let's find out exactly what kind of authority he's been strengthening all these years…
Sergey Varis, for Skelet.Org
CONTINUED: Alex Rovt: Ukrainian medal, American passport, Russian ammonia. PART 2
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