Anton Kisse
Contrary to the popular saying, many Ukrainian politicians have managed to deceive their people indefinitely. For twenty years now, Anton Kisse has skillfully portrayed himself as a caring manager of Odesa and a benefactor of the Bulgarian diaspora in Ukraine, repeatedly winning parliamentary seats. Moreover, political figures like Kisse and his comrades in the "Our Land" party have now proven to be in high demand on Bankova Street, where the post-Maidan government is forging strategic alliances with representatives of the ousted regime.
Anton Kisse. Through the "Ads" to the Stars
His origins gave him the opportunity to play the national card and hit the jackpot: Anton Ivanovich Kisse is indeed an ethnic Bulgarian. He was born on October 10, 1958, in the village of Rivne, Tarutino district, Odessa region. The brief history of his small homeland is as follows: back in 1812, runaway serfs and Russian Old Believers founded the village of Arsa, and later, the settler villages of Arsa Nemetskaya (later Vladimirovka) and Arsa Bolgarskaya (Rivne village) appeared nearby. In 1930, Arsa was renamed Evgenovka, and after the war, Vladimirovka and Rivne were incorporated into the Evgenovka village council. That's why Anton Kisse's official biography states that he was born in Evgenovka, not Rivne.
After completing eight years of school in Yevgenovka, Anton Kise attended high school in the neighboring village of Borodino and worked briefly as a tractor driver on a state farm before joining the army. Following his military service, he entered the Odessa State Pedagogical University's physical education department, graduating in 1983. For a young man whose only accomplishments were being awarded the Candidate Master of Sports title in freestyle wrestling, this was the only way to escape the village and reach the big city. This is precisely what he did, taking a job as a teacher-organizer at Housing Office No. 74 in the Illichivsky District of Odessa in 1983.
A physical education teacher attached to a housing office? In Soviet times, this was a reality, as the housing offices (run by the executive committee) implemented a number of social programs, including one aimed at involving children and adolescents (especially those at risk) in sports. The work wasn't difficult or demanding, and it offered the privilege of city housing (at a minimum, a room in an apartment shared with a janitor). It required only a certain talent for organization and leadership—which Anton Kisse possessed. But he also developed another talent—that of a careerist, and just three years later, in 1986, the young physical education teacher became chairman of the Illichivsk District Executive Committee's Physical Education and Sports Committee. He received help from the then First Secretary of the Odessa Regional Committee of the LKMSU, Sergei Grinevetsky, a contemporary and fellow countryman of Kisse (he was born in 1957 in the same Tarutino District).
This job was a veritable gold mine, and the main treasure wasn't the generous budgetary allocations for sports development (including from the regional Komsomol committee), which Anton Kisse distributed throughout the district. In the early 90s, this position gave him access to the most valuable resource of the time – human resources. Back then, across the former Soviet Union, two categories of physically fit and reckless young men united into "brigades": street thugs and athletes. People who knew Kisse from the "wild 90s" said he assembled an impressive "team" from among his fellow students (physical education instructors and coaches), athletes from Odessa clubs and sports schools, and even invited fellow countrymen from the Tarutino district. Young men in "Adik" helmets and leather jackets began persistently offering "security services" to Odessa businessmen, constantly expanding their business territory and squeezing out the criminal underworld that couldn't compete.
This is how Anton Kisse rose to prominence, though the details of his "shadow business" from that time remain unknown—since, it is said, few witnesses remain. But his close ties to Sergei Grinevetsky, who held leadership positions in the regional council and regional state administration in the 90s, were obvious: Kisse was considered one of Grinevetsky's closest associates, practically following him closely.
Anton Kisse
Necessary people
Sergey Grinevetsky
In 1990, Anton Kisse was first elected to the city council. In 1994, when Grinevetsky transferred to the regional council, Kisse immediately became deputy chairman of the Illichivsk district executive committee, and then chairman of the Illichivsk district administration. The former gym teacher's career was growing by leaps and bounds, and he decided to acquire the "smart card" that corresponded to his rank.
Well, this was not a problem for him, because Grinevetsky and Kisse had another bosom friend - Sergei Kivalov (Read more about it Sergey Kivalov, the Godfather of Corruption and Justice), who suddenly discovered the gym teacher's talent as a lawyer. In 1996-97, Kivalov was vice-rector for academic affairs at the Law Institute of Odessa State University, and shortly before his departure, Kisse received a degree in law from the institute. Kivalov then went on to become rector of the Odessa Law Academy, where, two years later, his friend Kisse received a degree in public administration. What interesting coincidences!
But the physical education teacher's transformation into a luminary didn't end there. In 2000, Anton Kisse reappeared within the walls of Odessa Pedagogical University, renamed South-Ukrainian National University, and defended his dissertation in pedagogy. To some Odessans aware of what was happening within the university's walls, this seemed like a cynical mockery—like presenting the Peace Prize to Adolf Hitler. Rumors circulated: the Pedagogical University's physical education department had effectively become a headquarters for Kisse's fellow athletes, who allegedly recruited strong young men for "brigades" and beautiful women for "escort services." Of course, athletes, even "titushki," aren't some kind of thugs; they don't throw vodka-fueled parties while listening to "Vladimirsky Central"; their activities appear far more civilized. Therefore, Anton Kisse has the image not of a "criminal authority," but of a respectable public figure and business executive who, together with his "assistants," actively participates in the life of the Odessa region.
Moreover, these "masters of sport" effectively took control of the entire South Ukrainian Pedagogical University—so it's no surprise that Anton Kisse became a candidate of pedagogical sciences within its walls, then a professor, and in 2007, a "doctor of political science"! A year later, he worked as an associate professor in the Department of State and Law at the Odessa National Maritime University. Moreover, the secret of his academic talent is said to be very simple: Kisse's books, dissertations, even lectures and public speeches are written and prepared by hired people.
All these accolades proved quite useful, as Anton Kisse's career continued to rise. In 2003, he was appointed deputy governor of the Odesa region, which was then held by Serhiy Hrynevetskyi. And in 2004, Kisse won the by-election to the Verkhovna Rada in Odesa's 136th electoral district. The press called it ideal, given the scandalous elections in Mukachevo, and it was personally overseen by Serhiy Kivalov, who had by then become the chairman of the Central Election Commission of Ukraine. Anton Kisse won with 30% of the vote, beating out non-partisan independent candidate Volodymyr Rodnin (23%), a protégé of the Odesa mayor. Ruslana Bodelana, and the candidate from Our Ukraine, Mikhail Brodsky (14%) (Read more about it in the article MIKHAIL BRODSKY - A PROFESSIONAL "SCAMMER").
Anton Kisse
In parliament, Kisse joined the centrist faction of the Revival Party, whose chairman was Transport Minister Georgy Kirpa. Soon, Kisse was noticed frequenting Kirpa's office: their common topic was the allocation of budget funds for the alleged Odessa railway stations and city transport. But where and into whose pocket the funds were allocated remained unknown – Kirpa "shot himself," and the cases of billions in embezzlement and misappropriation of funds from Ukrzaliznytsia remained unresolved. In June 2004, Kisse defected to the SDPU (U) faction, and it was around this time that he began actively visiting the Presidential Administration, headed by the Social Democratic Party member Viktor Medvedchuk.Read more about it in the article Viktor Medvedchuk: Putin's crony guarding Russia's interests in Ukraine). But already in the first days of the Maidan, he left it, returning to the "Revival" party, which he led after Kyrpa's death. There, he successfully served out the remainder of his parliamentary term (including the "purge" of Odessa in 2005). However, he missed the parliamentary elections in 2006: Governor Vasyl Tsushko and Mayor Eduard Gurvits, who helped other people get elected in single-member constituencies. Sergei Grinevetsky acquired a passable seat in the Litvin Bloc (Read more about it in the article Volodymyr Lytvyn: Does Ukraine need a professional Judas?), Kivalov returned to the rectorship of the Odessa Law Academy after the scandalous 2004 presidential elections, leaving Kisse with only the option of being elected to the regional council. Fortunately, he could do so not only in Odessa…
The main Bulgarian of Ukraine
Back in the mid-90s, when Anton Kisse had just become deputy chairman of the Illichivsk District Executive Committee, Fyodor Petrovich Karazhekov, the first president of the Association of Bulgarian National Cultural Societies and Organizations of Ukraine, approached him as an ethnic Bulgarian who had risen to prominence. Karazhekov not only invited Kisse to join the Association as a Bulgarian but also, as deputy chairman, to help it find premises for the Bulgarian Cultural Center.
Kisse was initially lukewarm about this, seeing no practical merit. However, when Karazhekov received the support of Ukrainian President Kuchma (who personally ordered the allocation of an ancient building on Admirala Zhukova Street in the heart of Odessa for a cultural center), began traveling to Bulgaria to meet with local parliamentarians and ministers, and received financial assistance to support the Bulgarian diaspora in Ukraine, Kisse's eyes lit up. He not only joined the Association but also brought many of his people into it. Using his administrative resources, connections, finances, and people, Kisse quickly earned himself an image as an active figure in the diaspora and essentially took over the bulk of the Association's organizational work. There remained only one hitch.
And so, in 1998, just before the parliamentary elections, Fyodor Karazhekov was arrested on charges of economic crimes. Kisse would later recount how he allegedly sought Karazhekov's release and acquittal, but was unable to overcome certain "powerful forces" (which he never named). However, there is other information: that immediately after Karazhekov's arrest, Kisse's men began traveling through Bulgarian villages in the region, campaigning for the re-election of the Association's president. Ultimately, this is precisely what happened: after much "persuasion" of Karazhekov's supporters by Kasse's "titushki," the elections took place, and Anton Kisse became president of the Association of Bulgarian National Cultural Societies and Organizations of Ukraine. His first act in this position was to begin leasing out the "extra" premises of the Bulgarian Cultural Center. However, the story of the Odessa gym teacher's transformation into a "Bulgarian baron" didn't end there.
In 2000, Fedor Karazhekov returned to Odessa, acquitted and free, and immediately approached Anton Kisse to reclaim his position as Association President. They had an unpleasant conversation, during which Kisse feigned remorse and "the devil got into my head," and persuaded Karazhekov to hold new elections for the Association President, claiming he would be the only candidate everyone would vote for. Kisse's main argument was that simply transferring authority or overturning the results of the previous elections would call into question the legitimacy of decisions and signatures on contracts, invoices, and other important documents. Karazhekov, remembering his experience as a defendant specifically on charges of illegal financial transactions, heeded this argument. But then something completely incomprehensible happened: when Karazhekov began traveling around the region in preparation for the elections, one day he… disappeared. He disappeared without a trace, as they say, "for good," as if he had vanished into thin air. The police never found him, and two versions of his disappearance circulated among the public. The first claimed that Kisse's men had "buried" him, while the second claimed that Karazhekov had fled, allegedly fearing a new arrest. However, it was rumored that Kisse himself had spread the second version.
Interestingly, when the Odessa press dug up this now-forgotten story in 2011-2012, the newspaper "Obozrenie-Plus" (formerly the public newspaper "Bulgarian Review," founded by Karazhekov in the 90s and later privatized by Kesse) came to the defense of its owner with articles reminiscent of the executive committee editorials of the 90s. "We will not allow our good name to be tarnished!" "We are outraged by the slander that has been poured on the Association of Bulgarians in Ukraine and its president personally!" "Anton Ivanovich Kisse has a high reputation!" "This is an election hoax!"
Be that as it may, after Karazhekov's disappearance, Anton Kisse became, as they say, lifelong president of the Association of Bulgarian National-Cultural Societies and Organizations of Ukraine. And one of his first acquisitions (in 2001) was a Bulgarian passport, effectively granting him a second Bulgarian citizenship. In 2001, he received a new passport, which listed his registered address in Sofia – 47 Yuri Gagirin Street. As the press reported, by a strange coincidence, apartments belonging to Bulgarian secret service employees are located in the same building. And it was precisely at that time (2011-2012) that Anton Kisse's people launched a campaign among Bulgarians in the Odessa region for a second Bulgarian citizenship – essentially laying the foundations for yet another separatist region.
The passport wasn't the only thing. Anton Kisse went to Bulgaria, where he focused not on cultivating cultural connections but on his own business. In 2009, an extract from Bulgaria's public real estate register (Kisse was apparently unaware of the public nature of this information) appeared in the press, revealing that Kisse owned six guest apartments in a Bulgarian ski resort, totaling 350 square meters and valued at €3,5 million. It was reported that Anton Kisse, who officially lived on his salary and modest fees from his "professorship," had carried out this transfer by circumventing the National Bank's permission to withdraw foreign currency from Ukraine. He most likely used the financial schemes of the Association of Bulgarians in Ukraine to do so.
Moreover, it was established that Bulgarian citizen Dobrinka Yankova, who sold the property to Anton Kisse, is one of the two co-founders of Perla-Tour LLC, which operates in Bulgaria in a wide range of businesses, from trade and freight transportation to construction. The other co-founder of this company is Gennady Kisse, the eldest son of the chairman of the Association of Bulgarians in Ukraine. This story was made more controversial by the fact that at the time, Gennady Kisse was working as an assistant prosecutor for the Suvorovsky district of Odessa, and the law prohibits prosecutorial employees from engaging in business. Furthermore, like his father, he also held dual Bulgarian citizenship!
Anton Kisse with his family
Unsinkable
This was far from the only scandal associated with Gennady Kisse – who, incidentally, like his father, earned a law degree from the Odessa Law University during Kivalov's tenure there. On December 1, 2012, while already working in the Brovary prosecutor's office (Kiev region), Kisse Jr., having drunk heavily at a corporate party, brutally beat his common-law wife, Elena Kolesnichenko. The girl was hospitalized with multiple injuries, and most importantly, with damaged kidneys. The outcome of this story remains unknown, but Viktor Pshonka's department (Read more about it in the article Viktor Pshonka: The Rise and Fall of the Prosecutor's Caesar) did not hand over its "distinguished" employees to justice. And the "hero's" father, Anton Kisse, once again became a member of parliament (joining the Party of Regions faction) and deployed all his connections to save his son.
Later, information emerged that during his 2012 election campaign, Anton Kisse spent over 3 million euros from a 5 million euro grant allocated by Bulgaria to support the Bulgarian diaspora in Ukraine. Technically, however, Kisse did not break the law: he traveled to Bulgarian villages in his electoral district No. 142 (Artsyz) and generously distributed humanitarian aid, allocated funds for repairs and additional payments to the poor – as he was supposed to spend the grant. However, he did everything in his own name, so that the district's residents would vote for his "benefactor." However, he wasn't able to win over all his fellow countrymen with one-time handouts: Anton Kisse's reputation was tarnished by his purchase of businesses in the Tarutino and other districts (the Borodinsky state farm, the Tarutino regional production association), which subsequently went bankrupt and closed. It was said that Anton Kisse was simply investing in real estate, buying up land for his future estate or for resale.
In addition, in 2011-2012, there was close contact with Kisse. became close to Odessa businessman Ivan Avramovm, whom Kisse made the honorary consul of Bulgaria in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions (which made him the holder of a Bulgarian diplomatic passport). Avramova, who was called the "overseer" of the notorious Yuriy Ivanyushchenko (Yura Yenakievsky), whose interests extended to a number of important sites in Odessa. In particular, according to rumors, Kisse promised to help him "acquire" the Odessa port elevator.
In his 2013 declaration, MP Anton Kisse reported a very modest income: just 256,000 hryvnias, including financial assistance (35,000 hryvnias) and a rental subsidy he received as a member of the Verkhovna Rada. However, with his declared assets, Kisse immediately became one of the country's richest politicians: he owns six apartments totaling over 1,000 square meters (plus two apartments belonging to his wife), a 58-hectare plot of land, a boat, and a Porsche Cayenne, as well as 23 million hryvnias contributed to the authorized capital of enterprises. However, as those in the know said, this was only a small portion of his true fortune.
Anton Kisse experienced Euromaidan in a state of chaotic turmoil. From the very beginning of the events in Kyiv, he called on the authorities to take a harsher approach. And on February 19, 2014, a brawl broke out between the local Maidan and Anti-Maidan protesters outside the Odesa Regional State Administration building, involving Anton Kisse's "titushki." A criminal investigation was later opened into this incident, with over fifty prosecutors and the Ministry of Internal Affairs conducting the investigation. However, Kisse emerged unscathed. He also managed to evade accusations of using his "titushki" in the provocations of May 2, 2014, which led to the tragedy at the Trade Union Building.
The secret to Kisse's unsinkability was simple: distance himself from the scandal and reach an agreement with the right people. On July 4, 2014, a curious event occurred: three more deputies left the Party of Regions parliamentary faction, turning out to be the inseparable Odesa trio: Kivalov, Grinevetsky, and Kisse. They scattered in all directions: Grinevetsky joined Serhiy Tigipko. (read more about it in the article Serhiy Tigipko: Komsomol oligarch covers his tracks), who seemed to be the most promising “non-Maidan” politician, Kivalov created his own Marine Party, and Kisse revived the “Vidrodzhennya” group, which now includes deputies associated with Igor Kolomoisky, the most influential Ukrainian oligarch of the summer of 2014.
But Anton Kisse had long had his own personal party (since 2011): he created "Our Region" to secure his own majority in the Odesa City and Regional Councils, but abandoned the project after being elected to the Rada. "Our Region" unexpectedly found favor in the summer of 2015, when a new project was being cobbled together from the fragments of the shattered Party of Regions for the October 2015 local elections. And it appears that this was the part of the former Party of Regions that managed to reach an agreement with the new government.
The details of the new political project soon shocked Ukrainians. The co-chairs of the revived "Our Land" party were Anton Kisse, Alexander Feldman, Yuriy Granaturov, and Sergey Kaltsev — with rather scandalous reputations. But behind them stood people directly linked to corruption and crime. In Odessa, Ivan Avramov helped Kisse recreate "Our Land," while in other regions of Ukraine, party branches were also led by people associated with Yuriy Ivanyushchenko and Sergei Levochkin.Read more about it in the article Levochkin. "The Gray Cardinal" and his sister). Some of them (like Sergei Shakhov (from the Luhansk region) directly bribed voters by distributing "financial assistance to the poor" (100 and 200 hryvnias), to which the prosecutor's office surprisingly turned a blind eye. Anton Kisse also traveled to Bulgarian villages in the Odessa region with "gifts" again, and was eventually elected in single-member constituency No. 142.
During his hectic campaigns in 2012 and 2014-2015, Anton Kisse practically destroyed the Association of Bulgarians in Ukraine: it became his financial and political arm, having lost touch with the country's Bulgarian diaspora. Essentially, the Association is recognized only in Odesa and Kisse's home district in the region—the Bulgarian communities in Lviv and Chernivtsi refuse to hear of it. However, Kisse remains recognized in Kyiv, and during President Poroshenko's recent trip to Bulgaria, it was Anton Kisse who accompanied him as the Association's president.
But it's not just the Bulgarian issue that is now bringing Kisse and Poroshenko together. A new parliamentary group, "Our Region," is currently being formed in the Verkhovna Rada. It will be headed by Anton Kisse and will include members of the "Vidrodzhennya" and "Will of the People" groups, who defected from the defeated Kolomoisky to the power-monopolizing Poroshenko. There are even rumors that the BPP and "Our Region" may even participate jointly in early parliamentary elections, the possibility and necessity of which are increasingly being discussed in Ukraine, which is choking on corruption and crisis.
Sergey Varis, for SKELET-info
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