Alexey Leonov. Who is the planted restaurateur working for? Part 1

Alexey Leonov

Some "servants of the people" aren't who they claim to be! Unfortunately, Ukrainians only began to learn this after they'd voted for all sorts of crooks, corrupt officials, and even former "Poroshenko bots" draped in green flags. Odesa native Alexei Leonov has successfully masqueraded as a "new generation politician" to this day, but a detailed analysis of his biography reveals that this is merely a well-concocted "legend." He came under journalistic suspicion back in the fall of 2019, when he was identified as a protégé of the well-known Odesa "authority figure," Galanternik.

In the spring of 2017, news of Oleksandr Angert's death emerged, followed by information that he had merely faked his death to enjoy a peaceful retirement. Be that as it may, the role of Odesa's shadow ruler passed to Volodymyr Galanternik , who, along with current mayor Gennady Trukhanov, was part of the Minin-Angert organized crime group, which had controlled the city since the late 90s. While Trukhanov had previously served as head of security and commander of the security wing, Galanternik wielded not his fists but seals and signatures – his mission was to raid enterprises, invest the organized crime group's capital in real estate, and manage them. Until recently, Trukhanov and Galanternik were considered complementary allies, but in September 2019, the press reported on their conflict. Immediately after this, Oleksiy Leonov, elected as a member of parliament from the Servant of the People party in the 135th single-member constituency (Odesa's Primorsky district), announced his intention to run for mayor of Odesa. At the same time, a source for the publication "Strana" reported that Galanternik was behind Leonov, helping him get elected as an MP, defeating the experienced Kivalov in the constituency.

It all seemed logical: having launched a war against Trukhanov, Galanternik was attempting to overthrow him, replacing him with his own tame mayor. Leonov's choice of candidate also seemed a good one: a formally independent young, successful entrepreneur, restaurateur, and social activist, under the then-popular banner of "Servant of the People," seemingly uninvolved in anything of the sort. He would have been an excellent alternative to both Trukhanov and other contenders for the mayor's seat. However, the same source reported that this, too, was nothing more than a carefully staged spectacle:

Let's remember that news of Angert's illness (allegedly cancer) surfaced in 2015-2016, immediately after his name began to be heard loudly in Mikheil Saakashvili's angry accusations . Then came the news that Angert had died—and that was it, he was suddenly forgotten! At the same time, Saakashvili became an enemy of Poroshenko, while Kyiv's attacks on Trukhanov, on the contrary, died down sharply—and many saw this as a behind-the-scenes "deal." But in 2019, power changed in Kyiv, and Trukhanov's seat began to waver again: there were even rumors that Saakashvili, having secured the support of Zelenskyy himself, would run for mayor. Therefore, it made sense to act preemptively and field their own candidate from Servant of the People in the 2020 local elections. Initially, this choice was made for Alexey Leonov, who by then had become friends with another restaurateur and "Servant of the People" member, Mykola Tyshchenko , who wielded considerable influence over Zelenskyy. Preparations for the election were meticulous: 2,8 million hryvnias were spent on Leonov's billboards alone . But then something changed, and Zelenskyy's team's ratings plummeted. So, instead of Leonov, Odesa comedian Oleh Filimonov ran for Servant of the People, ultimately finishing fourth with 10%.

But the most scandalous thing about this was not even that Leonov turned out to be just a puppet in the hands of the "gray cardinal" of Odessa, but that he was not at all who he was presented to voters as!

Alexey Leonov: A Tale of His First Earnings

Alexey Alexandrovich Leonov was born on February 26, 1983, in Odessa. In his special PR videos and hired interviews, Leonov constantly claims he started in business at the age of 14: supposedly, "I'd occupy spaces at the 7th Kilometer market overnight, sell them to vendors in the morning for a few dollars, and then go with friends to the cement plant to load sacks."

Well, as a self-serving fairy tale, this might be fine, but the reality was completely different. For example, the ploy of occupying and reselling trading spots at the "7th Kilometer" simply wouldn't have worked. This isn't some collective farm food market, where villagers arriving for the weekend with a trunk full of potatoes grab the first available spot! "7th Kilometer" is Ukraine's first mega-market for consumer goods, where strict rules were in place from the very beginning: each vendor was assigned their own "spot," for which they paid both the market administration and the criminal underworld. So, some cheeky teenagers wouldn't have been able to seize someone's spot at night and then extort "a few dollars" for it. So what could have really happened? Well, for example, they could have helped the "older guys" collect tribute from the vendors.

As for the cement plant, things are much simpler. As Leonov himself admitted, his classmate and childhood friend was Dmitry Aleksandrovich Starovoytov, co-owner of the controversial Megaline construction holding company. The holding company began in 1995 when his father, Aleksandr Anatolyevich Starovoytov, who was involved in "European-style" apartment renovations, took his business to a new level.

His clients helped him achieve this: at the time, only wealthy individuals, including Odessa officials and "authorities," could afford a proper home renovation (including combining several apartments into one). Alexander Starovoytov's main skill was his ability to find not only wealthy clients but also find common ground with them—and that's how he quickly met important and valuable people. With their help, Starovoytov, having founded Megaline LLC (EDRPOU 20998686), began securing contracts to renovate government-owned facilities and city-owned buildings, for which he was generously paid with budget funds (not without kickbacks, of course). By 1998, Megaline had already taken on the renovation of the National Bank's headquarters in the Odessa region. The company then moved on to major construction projects, beginning with participation in the construction of the Krasnye Zori yacht club and cottage community, and in 2000, renovating the office buildings of the Odessa Oil Refinery and other enterprises. Incidentally, it was then that the Minin-Angert organized crime group firmly gained control of the oil refinery, and it was their associate, Alexander Zhukov, who brought Lukoil to Odessa. And, as we'll recall, Galanternik was one of the members of this group. So, here's where the connections begin!

Of course, Lesha Leonov was still a teenager back then, just like his friend Dima Starovoytov. And whatever he was actually doing at the "7th Kilometer," the only way he could have ended up at the cement plant was to pick up building materials for Megaline. He may have even helped adults load cement into a truck a couple of times. But you have to admit, working part-time loading cement at a plant and helping a friend in the family business are two completely different things! So Alexey Leonov is simply lying to journalists and his constituents, portraying himself as a cliché businessman who "started from scratch," supposedly achieving everything with his calloused hands.

Alexey Leonov: From "patriot" to "restaurateur"

While Dmitry Starovoytov continued the family repair and construction business, his friend Alexei Leonov, after graduating from high school in 2000, enrolled in the Odessa Higher Vocational School of Maritime and Tourist Services, specializing in "ship's cook." Then, a huge twelve-year gap looms in his biography. "Worked as a chef in London and Estonia"—that's all! It was only in 2014, after the second Maidan, following the heated events of the spring and summer, that Leonov materialized as a patriotic activist and became an assistant to MP Vitaly Kurylo. Kurylo, who has an extremely odious reputation , but is dressed in a pressed embroidered shirt and has bounced between various "pro-Ukrainian" ruling parties. In 2014, Kurylo was elected in a single-member constituency in the rural Belakurakinsky district of Luhansk Oblast, under the banner of the BPP. And Alexei Leonov was in charge of his public reception office there , and brought gifts to voters with his boss.

Vitaly Kurilo

And yet, where was Alexei Leonov hiding before this? Let's imagine that in 2002, a 19-year-old, robust guy, for some reason, fled abroad—perhaps simply to avoid serving in the Ukrainian army, or perhaps due to some misdemeanor. But was he really such a talented cook that he found work as a chef in London? Those who had the misfortune of dining in his eateries describe them as rather mediocre eateries "with the lingering smell of old, overcooked oil." Or did his talent, or rather his physical strength, find other uses abroad? How can one not recall another "restaurateur," the Konstantinovsky brothers ! Incidentally, in the article about whom you can learn that the so-called The "Russian mafia" in Europe and the US (many of whom hail from Kyiv and Odessa) has a tradition of being based in local restaurants, where rank-and-file "militants" are employed as cooks, waiters, and security guards. Skelet.Org won't confirm anything until definitive facts emerge, but don't you think Leonov's close ties to Galanternik and his long stay abroad suggest such assumptions?

Mikhail Shpolyansky, for Skelet.Org

CONTINUATION: Alexey Leonov. Who is the planted restaurateur working for? PART 2

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