Andrey Pivovarsky
The Ministry of Infrastructure has been at the center of news lately. There's talk of raising train ticket prices, banning Russian aircraft from flying over Ukraine, some new, semi-mythical port on the Black Sea, and even expanding the minister's powers by transferring some of the functions of the Ministry of Regional Development. This ministry is headed by a "yuppie boy," 38-year-old soldier of the second post-Maidan draft, Andriy Mykolayovych Pivovarsky, who replaced BYuT member Maksym Burbak ( read more about him in the article " Maxim Burbak: How Chernivtsi Residents Sat on Donetsk's "Golden Toilet" ) from Arseniy Yatsenyuk's first government. The Ministry of Infrastructure has always been an institution with a high level of corruption – this is due to its specific nature, namely, the large number of tenedros and the considerable "property" it owns, including roads that need repair, all types of transport, and radio frequencies. It's enough to recall the scandals that rocked this government agency during the years of Heorhiy Kyrpa and Yevhen Chervonenko . The current minister is no exception to the rule; we've already written about his corrupt ties to TIS , the company that built an illegal hydraulic structure near the port of Yuzhny. We've also covered scandals surrounding the appointment of Ukrposhta's top officials . Moreover, just this past August, Pyvovarsky was the first person to be ousted from the Cabinet, as we also reported . But back then, it seems he got away with it. Will he now, and where did Andriy Pyvovarsky come from in power? We'll try to answer these questions in our article.
Eremeev's protégé
Before his appointment as minister, Andriy Mykolayovych had no connection to either public service or infrastructure. He comes from a business background. He began his career at Dragon Capital, which produced quite a few people who later went directly to the buildings on Hrushevsky and Bankova Streets. However, we also reported on how employees of this company, under the leadership of Tomas Fiala, evaded taxes and generally violated Ukrainian law. He then became the head of Continuum, a company that includes the oil and food assets of the late MP Ihor Yeremeyev and his partner, also MP Stepan Ivakhiv . Both MPs formed the "Will of the People" group in parliament. The group grew, gradually bribing members of the majority. Moreover, despite not being in the coalition, the group voted in sync with the majority for all of Petro Poroshenko's initiatives. Apparently, this was the price for appointing Andriy Pyvovarsky to the Cabinet of Ministers under the BPP quota. Yeremeyev directly profited from this. His company, Vog-Retail, became the virtually exclusive supplier of fuel and lubricants to Ukrzaliznytsia and the Ukrainian Ports Authority. His food companies began supplying food for trains and planes. But these were minor details. According to some reports, the late Igor Yeremeyev was actively interested in ports, particularly Mykolaiv and Odesa, as well as the Odesa Port Plant. Had he lived, without his "pocket" minister, he wouldn't have been able to even consider this. But, as they say, c'est la vie.
Andrey Pivovarsky at the funeral of Igor Eremeev
Fiala's Protégé or the Second Version
According to another version, Pivovarsky was favored for the position by the aforementioned head of Dragon Capital, Tomas Fiala, who allegedly personally recommended Andriy Mykolayovych to Poroshenko, with whom he has a good relationship. This version is supported by a large number of experts from the investment fund who work or collaborate with the ministry. They primarily evaluate Ministry of Infrastructure assets for potential privatization. Initially, the privatization of Ukrzaliznytsia was discussed, but it was successfully defended, as were Ukrposhta and the seaports. So far, so good. But there are other juicy morsels, for example: the Kyiv Bus Station and 24 bus stations in Kyiv and the region, the Ivano-Frankivsk Locomotive Repair Plant, the building of the Institute of Postgraduate Education for Seafarers and River Workers, the state stevedoring company, the Danube Shipping Company, Inflot, and the river ports. All of these enterprises have already been privatized or are being prepared for privatization. And it's precisely on such deals that investment funds like Dragon Capital make their money. However, the first theory doesn't rule out the second. It's entirely possible that both Igor Eremeev and Tomas Fial interceded on Pivovarov's behalf.
Tomas Fiala
Scandals in the ministry
Since taking office at the ministry, Andriy Nikolayevich has been mired in scandals. Listing them all would be beyond the scope of this article. But let's recall the most high-profile ones. Perhaps the most resonant was the scandal surrounding the appointment of Oleksandr Zavgorodniy as head of Ukrzaliznytsia. The fact is that Pivovarsky appointed him without any competition, based on… Facebook posts that the minister greatly favored. As a result, Zavgorodniy was caught in opaque tenders and the transfer of all profitable freight transportation services to private companies. Another equally high-profile scandal is the Lviv-Krakovets railway. It was supposed to be a concession—the state plus a private investor. As a result, the state paid for the construction in full, taking out loans with state guarantees. The scandal surrounding the Illichivsk port and Yuriy Kruk is also noteworthy . In October of this year, Odesa Oblast Governor Mikheil Saakashvili finally removed the latter from his position as head of the port. But Pivovarsky immediately appointed Kruk as his advisor. Saakashvili was embroiled in another scandal involving the low-cost airline Atlas Jet. Denys Antonyuk, head of the State Aviation Service and a subordinate of Andriy Pivovarsky, was reluctant to grant the airline permission to fly to Odesa, but after the personal intervention of the Odesa governor, who complained directly to the president, he finally granted it. Incidentally, Antonyuk was only suspended from his post, not fired. And he may well be reinstated through the courts.
Mikheil Saakashvili and Denis Antonyuk
Banal incompetence
Some of the scandals stem not from Andriy Nikolayevich's ill will, but from a simple lack of competence. For example, this summer, the minister claimed to have abolished Ukravtodor—the very same agency that drivers hate so much they put stickers on their cars to that effect. In reality, it's alive and well, and what Pyvovarsky abolished is called the State Corporation "Automobile Roads of Ukraine." Incompetence also underpinned the reform, which would transfer 65% of roads to local authorities. Experts say they simply can't afford it. Ukrzaliznytsia still can't formulate reasonable tariffs and present them to the public, and this, too, is a sign of incompetence—not on the part of the railway workers, who understandably conceal these calculations, but on the part of the minister, who can't force them to do so. And then Andriy Nikolayevich issued a statement in which he called river transport promising. And this is in a country where river ports lie in ruins, and the river fleet was long ago cut up for scrap metal.
PR and anti-PR
Where the Minister of Infrastructure has truly excelled is in PR. The ministry makes statements almost weekly, each more bravura than the last. Ever more ambitious plans for reforming the industry are being formulated and announced. And Andriy Nikolayevich himself is a likeable man, European and intelligent, with an American education. One wants to believe him. However, the PR efforts are wasted daily. Almost all Ukrainians are, to one degree or another, clients of the Ministry of Infrastructure's enterprises. They travel on roads, on trains, use mobile phones, and, as they say, experience firsthand the difference between the minister's pronouncements and the harsh reality. And now he's made enemies, who are cruelly attacking him in the PR arena. For example, in July of this year, billboards appeared with the slogan: "Beer + Baileys = Does Dad Know?" The Pope is Poroshenko, the beer is Pivovarsky, and Beilis is Mikhail Beilin, a freelance presidential adviser close to Boris Lozhkin and responsible for overseeing infrastructure in the presidential administration. This poster, apparently, hinted at some kind of "intrigue" between them behind Petro Poroshenko's back. The initiator of these public hints is believed to be one of the leaders of the BPP, MP Ihor Kononenko. He himself wanted to take this position, as he rather opaquely hinted to the entire country in an interview with Focus magazine. Billboards appeared next, reading: "Absinthe + Sauvignon Blanc. Papa knows everything," "Egg liqueur + moonshine. Papa knows everything," and "Rogan + Cognac. Papa knows everything." Sauvignon Blanc is Maksym Blank, deputy director of Ukrzaliznytsia, Rogan is Arsen Avakov ( read more about him in the article " Arsen Avakov: The Criminal Past of the Minister of Internal Affairs "), and Egg Liqueur is Arseniy Yatsenyuk. Apparently, the author of this campaign enjoyed the trolling.
What will happen next?
Very soon, on December 11-12, the Verkhovna Rada will hear the Cabinet of Ministers' progress report. The situation is such that the Prime Minister himself could be ousted. The Radical Party has left the coalition and will likely vote for his resignation or a vote of no confidence simply out of principle. A revolt by the "15 Spartans" is also looming within the BPP. Batkivshchyna, as always, is wavering. Yulia Tymoshenko attended the anti-tariff Maidan protests with Oleh Lyashko and is clearly hinting that she might do so again. In short, there will have to be some bargaining. And that means handing over lucrative positions to opportunistic partners capable of extending Arseniy Petrovich's political life. The positions of Minister of Health and Minister of Fuel and Energy are very likely already up for auction. But these two positions may not be enough, in which case the Ministry of Agriculture and Infrastructure will have to be ceded. So, it's entirely possible that in just two weeks, Andrey Pivovarsky will return to the more familiar and understandable work of investment banking or managing a company. So, as early as early December, everyone could truly benefit: him, the country's infrastructure, and Ukraine.
Denis Ivanov, for SKELET-info
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