Andrey Pavelko
When our Ukrainian politicians are asked: “Who is Andrey Pavelko"?"—the reactions are virtually identical—some immediately call him a traitor, while others say they want nothing to do with him. There's another category of politicians, who could be called "more enlightened," who call Pavelko a "tushka" or a "political defector." According to these politicians, he's capable of betraying even the closest person. The only person Pavelko hasn't betrayed yet is the former governor of the Dnipropetrovsk region and current candidate for mayor of Dnipropetrovsk, Oleksandr Vilkul, about whom we wrote earlier. Oleksandr Vilkul: The Forgotten Past of a Dnipropetrovsk Mayoral CandidateAnd although his relationship with Vilkul isn't the only dark spot in Andrei Vasilyevich's biography, he is still held in power and actively used by both opposition forces and the ruling parties.
Marriage of convenience
To understand Andriy Pavelko, it's enough to look at his career and compare his dramatic career advancement with his wedding date. He first started working as a technician at the Dnipropetrovsk Data Processing Center. Even then, the young man showed signs of being a "capable parasite," capable of extracting everything he needed from a person and then simply "dumping" them. Pavelko's ambition was evident from the first moment he met him. While working as a driver at the Dnipropetrovsk Dnipropetrovsk factory, he spotted a promising bride – Alena Sergienko, the daughter of future MP Leonid Sergienko. It was this choice that determined his entire future. Incidentally, thanks to Sergienko's "family connections" in Germany, Dnipromain became one of the largest wallpaper companies in Ukraine.
Andrey Pavelko and Leonid Sergienko
Immediately after Alena and Andrey's wedding, his father-in-law took charge of his son-in-law. At his father-in-law's instigation, Andrey Pavelko successively became figurehead chairman of the companies Dnipromain, Niktrans, and Stroydniproservis. He served as director of the Niktrans transport company from 1998 to 2001.
At the same time, Pavelko's thirst for power awakened, and he persistently asked his father-in-law to help him break into "big-time politics." But Sergienko understood that getting into politics wasn't easy; he first needed to be well-known. His father-in-law arranged for Andrei Vasilyevich to work managing a children's football team at his own factory, DneproMain.
While working with this football team, Pavelko truly made a name for himself, so much so that Dnipropetrovsk fans still can't forgive him for his "raider" actions. Andriy Vasilyevich is rightly called the man who destroyed the Dnipro-75 Children's Football School, the most famous children's football school in the USSR. During the Soviet era, this school produced a colossal number of star football players. Pavelko acted like a true football raider: he lured coaches to DniproMain, persuaded the parents of the most talented football players to enroll their children in his school, and then sold them to other football clubs, using the proceeds for his other business ventures.
Family of Andrey Pavelko
Incidentally, most politicians and businessmen who know Pavelko personally say that wherever he appears, disaster awaits, since virtually everything he touches sooner or later turns to dust. Evidence of this can be seen in Andriy Vasilyevich's failed "business projects": a pizzeria that went bankrupt almost immediately after opening, as well as a cafe in Dnipropetrovsk with a similar story. All the businesses Pavelko personally opened eventually accumulated crippling debts, which, as you've probably already guessed, his father-in-law, Leonid Sergienko, had to pay off.
Political dependent
One fine day, heeding his son-in-law's pleas, Leonid Serhienko began pushing him into big politics. He chose a simple path—through the party lists of the Batkivshchyna party, which he sponsored. They weren't exactly welcoming the new member, but no one questioned Serhienko's authority. Pavelko joined the party even though he had long been under the thumb of Oleksandr Vilkul, for whom Pavelko had performed various tasks during the Dnipropetrovsk elections.
In 2012, Andriy Vasyliovych's dream finally came true – he became a people's deputy from the Batkivshchyna party (number 29 on the party list). In the 7th convocation of the Verkhovna Rada, he served on the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Fuel and Energy. Pavelko didn't last long in the Rada. His party comrades quickly realized he was a true "Cossack plant," who, while a member of Batkivshchyna, voted "for" with the Party of Regions even when the entire opposition voted "against." According to his fellow party members, he justified his choice with phrases like, "I voted for it because Vilkul said so." At first, his father-in-law, who was one of the main investors in Batkivshchyna, saved him from being expelled from the party, but in October 2013, Pavelko was expelled from the party for opportunism, and in an attempt to protect himself, he also dragged his father-in-law out of the party.
After this, he was once again picked up by his longtime "protector," Oleksandr Vilkul, who was in the process of creating a new "opposition" project aimed at siphoning votes from the then-opposition. This project, with the resonant name "Democrats," was supposed to be headed by Andriy Pavelko. However, due to the revolutionary events on the Maidan, the project failed, and the former "fixer," Vilkul, retreated into the shadows.
Alexander Vilkul
During the snap presidential elections, Pavelko was torn between choosing "who to join this time." Batkivshchyna no longer welcomed him, UDAR saw right through him, and Svoboda would rather beat him up than accept him. Ultimately, Pavelko's new party was the Petro Poroshenko Bloc, which boasted a virtually unlimited budget and enormous support in Andriy Pavlovych's home turf—Dnipropetrovsk Oblast. As it later became known, Pavelko headed the BPP's campaign headquarters in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast.
The irony is that despite Poroshenko's election victory, the campaign staff overseen by Pavelko never received any money—not the activists, not the precinct commission chairs, not even the bribed observers. Andriy Vasilyevich simply stole the money allocated to him for the elections. It's worth noting that Pavelko is always looking for ways to make money, and elections are just one way to do so. Vilkul, in turn, exploits him for his own ends, remaining "invisible" while keeping his people close to the trough. After the parliamentary elections, Pavelko headed the budget committee in the Rada, which is important to his patrons, and also became deputy head of the Petro Poroshenko Bloc faction.
Pavelko and “titushki”
During the events on the Dnipropetrovsk Euromaidan, the media accused Andriy Pavelko of collaborating with Oleksandr Vilkul, implicating him in the buses that transported "fighters" in support of the Party of Regions. After the violent events of January 26 near the Dnipropetrovsk Regional State Administration, no one doubted Pavelko's involvement with the Dnipropetrovsk titushki. According to sources, Andriy Vasilyevich was responsible for the titushki in Dnipropetrovsk. The head of security at his nightclub, "Opera," Alan Petrosyan, openly recruited people to disperse protesters near the Dnipropetrovsk Regional State Administration. He was never seen at the Euromaidan itself in Dnipro, nor was he ever heard to criticize the current government or the Berkut security forces.
titushki in Dnepropetrovsk
Football functionary
When Andriy Pavelko is asked why he went into politics, he explains that he was one of the initiators who helped Dnipropetrovsk get on the list of Euro 2012 host cities, but due to behind-the-scenes dealings, it was excluded. According to Pavelko, this is precisely what prompted him to decide to enter politics, because only being a politician can change things.
Pavelko's life became closely intertwined with football. Gradually developing a football school, he achieved a position in the Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Football Federation, and in 2001, he became its chairman. This was the first step in his career as a football official. While working to develop football in the Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, he earned considerable money through shady schemes he himself orchestrated.
Following the events of Euromaidan, the leadership of the Football Federation of Ukraine also changed. Anatoliy Konkov was replaced by Andriy Pavelko, first as acting head, and then as the full head of the FFU. Speculation about his succession began two months before the elections, with him being considered the "confirmed" candidate between Poroshenko and Surkis. However, to everyone's surprise, Ihor Kolomoisky, a Ukrainian oligarch and owner of FC Dnipro, entered the race for the FFU presidency. Pavelko won the election, and Kolomoisky later stated in an interview that he had run to ensure a fair election.
Igor Kolomoisky teaches Andriy Pavelko to "watch his talk"
Igor Kolomoisky on his relationship with Andriy Pavelko
It's worth noting that Pavelko's team at the FFU included former colleagues from Igor Surkis's federation. For example, Oleksandr Bandurko, who served as the FFU's first vice president under Surkis, and Vadim Kostyuchenko, who is associated with him because he served as deputy head of corporate programs and public relations at FC Dynamo Moscow. Akhmetov's men also remained in the FFU's leadership, including Viktor Mezheiko and Mykhailo Lanyo, who, among other things, were members of the Party of Regions.
Andriy Pavelko's biography contains many negative aspects that, one way or another, implicate him in criminal ties, or that could lead to him being called a traitor. However, if this "traitor" is beneficial to the current government, then what should we call them?
Dmitry Samofalov, for SKELET-info
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