Svyatoslav Piskun
Biography
Born March 8, 1959, in Berdychiv, Zhytomyr Oblast. He graduated from the Law Faculty of Ivan Franko Lviv State University in 1983. He worked in the prosecutor's office for 14 years. From 1997 to 2002, he served as deputy and then head of the Investigative Department of the Tax Police of the State Tax Administration of Ukraine. He also served as deputy chairman of the State Tax Administration. On July 6, 2002, parliament confirmed him as Prosecutor General of Ukraine with 350 votes in favor.
On October 29, 2003, on the recommendation of the Coordinating Committee on Combating Organized Crime and Corruption, Leonid Kuchma dismissed Svyatoslav Piskun from his post. Incidentally, 17 members of the Coordinating Committee present at the meeting voted in favor of the proposal to dismiss Svyatoslav Piskun, including Interior Minister Mykola Bilokon and Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) Chairman Ihor Smeshko. On February 14, 2004, Svyatoslav Piskun was appointed Deputy Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine.
On December 10, 2004, by decision of the Pechersk Court of Kyiv, he was reinstated as Prosecutor General. Former Prosecutor General Gennady Vasiliev stated that Svyatoslav Piskun's return to his post was "absolutely illegitimate, illegal, and this, of course, still requires a legal assessment" (Forum of Regions, January 12, 2005). On October 14, 2005, President Viktor Yushchenko dismissed Svyatoslav Piskun from his position as Prosecutor General. Svyatoslav Piskun attempted to appeal this decision in court, but was ultimately unsuccessful in his reinstatement.
The former Prosecutor General says he was fired for his unwillingness to carry out political orders. "My dismissal was precisely because several people from the president's inner circle, who also represented the top brass of 'Our Ukraine,' were under investigation. Therefore, the president had no choice. He had to either declare his political force corrupt or remove the Prosecutor General. He chose the latter," Piskun asserts ("Delo," December 28, 2005). Member of Parliament of Ukraine. In the 2006 parliamentary elections, Svyatoslav Piskun ran on the Party of Regions list (No. 96).
On April 26, 2007, Svyatoslav Piskun was reinstated as Prosecutor General by President Yushchenko by a decision of the Shevchenkivskyi District Court of Kyiv. However, on May 24, he was dismissed. The president cited Piskun's combined duties as Prosecutor General and his position as a member of parliament. He is also Deputy Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Legislative Support for Law Enforcement. In 2007, Svyatoslav Piskun ranked 89th in the "Top 100 Most Influential People of Ukraine," as determined by Korrespondent magazine. In the 2007 elections, he was elected to the Verkhovna Rada on the Party of Regions list (No. 31).
Family
His wife, Svetlana (born 1962), is a teacher by education. “I met my wife when she was 17, and we were applying to Lviv University. I had already completed my military service, and we started dating. Then we got in. She graduated from the chemistry department, and I graduated from the law department. We got married in our third year, and in our fifth year, our daughter, Tatyana, was born in Lviv. There was nowhere to take the baby from the hospital, so I took her to the student dormitory. And for a couple of weeks, she slept on the student desk, among the books, until Sveta’s mother took her wife and baby to her place in Volyn,” recalls Svyatoslav Piskun (“Fakty,” December 28, 2002). Their daughter, Tatyana (born 1983), is married to Ivaschenko. She is known to speak Japanese and entered university at the age of 14. Son – Svyatoslav (born in 2000).
Hobbies
He enjoys singing with a guitar, sings karaoke, and writes poetry. Piskun says he last wrote poetry when he received the rank of general: "Something like, 'A star fell on my shoulder straps, a lucky star...'" (Fakty, December 28, 2002). He plays tennis. He enjoys listening to Joe Cocker and prefers white Spanish wine. His favorite books are "The Twelve Chairs" and "The Golden Calf."
Political ambitions
When Mikhail Potebenko was asked in July 2002 to assess Mr. Piskun's chances of becoming Prosecutor General, he replied, "Piskun? Who's that? I don't know anyone like that from the Prosecutor General's Office." This statement eloquently demonstrated the old prosecutorial establishment's hostility toward a man from the tax police. Among them, Svyatoslav Mikhailovich proved to be an outsider.
This allowed him to dismiss several of Mikhail Potebenko's protégés without unnecessary sentimentality, as well as conduct personnel "purges" in several regional prosecutor's offices. It is unlikely that a person without ambition would have done this. For a long time, Svyatoslav Piskun tried to conceal his political ambitions behind the prosecutor's uniform. "I don't engage in politics during criminal investigations. But I serve the state and cannot remain aloof from the events taking place in my country. I am not an apolitical person, but as soon as I step into my office, politics can only be present on the television screen," he asserted several years ago ( Delovaia Nedelya-FT, September 5, 2003). When asked whether he considered the position of Prosecutor General the pinnacle of his career, Svyatoslav Piskun replied, "I don't even think about it" ( Zerkalo Nedeli, February 15, 2003).
When asked more directly whether he was eyeing the presidential "uniform," he replied, "God forbid! Why? I'm too far removed from politics to even think about it. That's a different level. You need to think globally, long-term, and develop a holistic picture of the country... I'm not ready for that" ("2000," February 28, 2003). Although, who knows? After all, Svyatoslav Piskun's age is perfectly capable of making more than one career leap.
Reviews about the policy
The difficult relationship between Svyatoslav Piskun and Yulia Tymoshenko They could easily have been the basis for a Russian television series. The plot is indecently banal. The main character, a courageous investigator, constantly insists that "a thief belongs in prison." Meanwhile, the heroine, her relatives, and comrades attempt to expose the official of justice for his dishonesty. In September 2003, Yulia Tymoshenko filed a lawsuit to protect her honor and dignity. The BYuT leader named Svyatoslav Piskun and the Stolichnye Novosti publishing house as defendants.
On November 21, 2004, the Pechersk Court denied Yulia Tymoshenko's case due to the plaintiff's failure to appear in court. "I have repeatedly asked the deputies, and will continue to ask them, like Themis, to turn a blind eye to the fact that this is a beautiful woman, a deputy, and a faction leader. Read the Prosecutor General's Office's submission and evaluate this person's actions as a citizen of Ukraine. A quarter of the state budget was taken out of Ukraine in 1997. Those two billion dollars could have been used to pay pensions and raise salaries. Why should we forgive those in power and their ilk who, having stolen billions, have impoverished tens of thousands of people?"—this is Piskun's position ("Stolichnye Novosti," September 2, 2003). Therefore, it is not surprising that after Piskun's resignation in October 2003, Yulia Tymoshenko's jubilation knew no bounds. In 2004, Svyatoslav Piskun demonstrated his loyalty to Yulia Tymoshenko. "It was thanks to Tymoshenko that I rose from my knees... I also intend to reconsider my position on her case, taking into account the American court's decision in the Lazarenko case... Right now, I have no questions for Yulia Vladimirovna," Piskun said (Svoboda, December 13, 2004).
On January 16, 2005, Yulia Tymoshenko stated that the new government was already giving orders to Svyatoslav Piskun to initiate criminal cases against her entourage. "I'm surprised that Piskun is receiving new orders to initiate new cases against me. He's received a new order to keep my family on the hook," Tymoshenko noted. When asked who was giving Piskun such orders, Tymoshenko replied, "I'll get to the bottom of it" (Glavred, January 16, 2005). "I dropped the criminal case against Tymoshenko because there were grounds. Why is Our Ukraine angry with me? If the cases against Tymoshenko hadn't been dropped then, she might not have become prime minister. But I acted according to the law, and nine months later the Supreme Court upheld everything," stated Svyatoslav Piskun (Delo, December 28, 2005).
Politician rating
In 2007, he was ranked 137th in the Focus magazine ranking of “200 most influential Ukrainians”.
He is a supporter-opponent
Svyatoslav Piskun for: Ukraine's integration into Europe; Deputy Prosecutors General coordinating the identities of regional prosecutors with the parliamentary committee on legislative support for law enforcement; increasing the term of office of the Prosecutor General from 5 to 7 years; granting the Prosecutor General's Office the right of legislative initiative; creating a Ministry of Economic Security; adopting a law on the opposition; reinstating criminal liability for defamation; mandatory reporting of suspicious financial transactions by bank security services; securing for prosecutors the exclusive right to initiate criminal cases; ensuring that any restriction of a citizen's rights by any law enforcement agency is carried out only with the consent of the prosecutor's office; reasonable tax amnesty of capital; investigation of facts of falsification during the 2004 presidential elections; investigation of the poisoning of Viktor Yushchenko; creation of the National Bureau of Investigation; for the introduction of security officials to the NBU board; legalization of Major Melnichenko's tapes; limiting the right of the President of Ukraine to appoint judges.
Svyatoslav Piskun vs.: separatism; the return of general oversight functions to the prosecutor's office; interference by prosecutorial bodies in the work of the courts; investigations in prosecutorial bodies; illegal benefits for enterprises; the involvement of prosecutorial staff in political processes; the establishment in Ukraine of a system according to which the courts themselves would elect their own chairpersons.
Psychological picture
Svyatoslav Piskun claims that the "Orange Revolution" gave him a powerful boost of energy. "I saw millions of people rise from their knees, and I thought: why am I any worse? And I decided to rise from my knees a year ago," he said. Since the "Orange Revolution," Svyatoslav Piskun has served as Prosecutor General several times, lost that very position, and won a seat in parliament on the Party of Regions list. However, for someone as active as Piskun, the Verkhovna Rada has proven to be less than ideal for realizing his ambitions. As they say, it's not the right scale.
Kompromat
Self compromising on politics
Slavyansky Bank. While serving as the head of the State Tax Administration's Investigative Department, Svyatoslav Piskun investigated the case of Slavyansky Bank and its director, Boris Feldman. Feldman believes Piskun was carrying out a political order. The Prosecutor General denies this. "They say this case is a political order. There was no political order! We simply read in the newspaper that the island of Nauru (through which the finances were allegedly 'pumped') has a population of 9, an area of 22 square kilometers, nothing but mines, and not a single bank," stated Svyatoslav Mikhailovich ("Business," September 3, 2001).
Drug trafficking In June 2003, the BYuT faction in the Verkhovna Rada demanded a parliamentary hearing of Prosecutor General Svyatoslav Piskun and Security Service Chairman Volodymyr Radchenko regarding a criminal case involving the seizure of a large amount of drugs. Yulia Tymoshenko then stated that Piskun may have been involved in the case, as it involved two tax police officers. The SBU press center stated that the Security Service had no information about the involvement of senior Prosecutor General's Office officials in the drug trade. Svyatoslav Piskun also denied these allegations.
Family business In October 2003, Olga Kolinko, head of the Coordination Committee for Combating Corruption and Organized Crime, accused Svyatoslav Piskun of "assisting" the business of his daughter, Tatyana Ivaschenko, and one of his relatives, Yuriy Tryndyuk. The latter denied this information. Tryndyuk served as chairman of the boards of OAO Odesa Port Refrigerator and OAO Chernivtsi Bread Factory. It was in these enterprises that Piskun's daughter held a stake. According to Ukrinformburo, on April 22, 2002, Svyatoslav Piskun's wife, Svetlana Sevastyanovna Piskun, became a co-founder of a certain LLC "Primula," registered in Kyiv at 13/19 Kudryavska Street, Apt. 5. Her contribution to the company's authorized capital amounted to 7,000 UAH. "A few months later, the Prosecutor General's wife decided to leave the business. The reason is unknown. But it is absolutely certain that on July 3, 2002, Tatyana Svyatoslavovna Ivaschenko became a co-founder of Primula, contributing exactly 7,000 hryvnia to the authorized capital. A month later, on July 11, 2002, the Prosecutor General's daughter's contribution to Primula's authorized capital increased to 150,000 hryvnia!... And that's not all. The fact is that Tatyana and Svetlana Sevastyanovna had partners. Another 150,000 hryvnia was contributed to the authorized capital of Primula LLC by a certain Natalya Nikolaevna Tryndyuk... Oops! "And how should we now assess Yuriy Tryndyuk's statement that Tatyana Ivaschenko owns only "ten shares out of a million" in Chernivtsi Bread Factory OJSC and only "three shares out of a million and a half" in Odessa Port Refrigerator OJSC?," asks Ukrinformburo (November 1, 2003). Svyatoslav Piskun denies all accusations, stating that he personally doesn't know any Yuriy Tryndyuk. "Three hundred deputies were 'dividing up' metal in Ukraine, and Piskun, who keeps half of them on the hook, buys 2% of the bakery's shares. Is that even smart?" asks Svyatoslav Mykhailovych (Delo, October 30, 2006).
Abuses In October 2003, the same Olga Kolinko accused Svyatoslav Piskun of: abuse of office; failure to comply with presidential decrees; commercial activity; and illegal vacations in Crimea, the Emirates, and the Alps. This list of charges allegedly became decisive in Piskun's dismissal from the post of Prosecutor General. Considering that Svyatoslav Mikhailovich was reinstated in 2004, it can be assumed that these charges against him have been dropped.
100 thousand dollars In April 2004, People's Deputy Grigoriy Omelchenko appealed to the Prosecutor General and the Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine with a request to establish the fact that $100 had been transferred to a foreign currency account in one of the banks, which was used for the personal purposes of former Prosecutor General Svyatoslav Piskun and his wife.
The Kolesnikov case The Ministry of Internal Affairs, headed by Yuriy Lutsenko, accused Svyatoslav Piskun of deliberately ruining the case. Boris KolesnikovSvyatoslav Mikhailovich denied these accusations. "Thanks to Comrade Lutsenko and the others for not being guilty of the sugar price hike, the spread of bird flu, the gas price hike, and for not being charged with organizing the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy and Prime Minister Olof Palme," Piskun said ("Delo," December 28, 2005).
Material status
Svyatoslav Piskun considers himself a wealthy man. He says his main income comes not from his modest salary as a civil servant, but from the business activities of his wife and daughter. According to some reports, this is a legal business. However, Piskun emphasizes that he has never lobbied for his family's commercial interests. He claims that regulatory authorities inspect his wife's business on the same basis as other businessmen.
Humor
Anecdote
Squeaker is asked:
-Will you ever become Prosecutor General again?
- Of course. The Prosecutor General's Office awaits my fourth coming and Tsushko's second coming.
Caricatures
Promises and Quotes
25 May 2009
Svyatoslav Piskun, reinstated as Ukraine's Prosecutor General by a decision of Kyiv's Shevchenkivskyi District Court, admits that the case against Donetsk Regional Council Chairman Borys Kolesnikov was falsified and, as head of the Prosecutor General's Office, promises to find and prosecute those responsible.
Answering a question from reporters, he stated that the case was opened without him. "Kolesnikov was arrested while I was not in Ukraine. The case was investigated by specific individuals. Specific individuals led the investigation. I believe that, as Prosecutor General, I must settle the matter and determine who fabricated the Kolesnikov case and on what basis," Piskun said.
11 May 2014
The creation of the National Bureau of Investigation will bring an additional $100 billion into the budget. The National Bureau of Investigation will focus exclusively on officials of the first, second, and third categories and will lead the fight against corruption in Ukraine. This is enough to add an additional $100 billion to the state budget. I have already compiled a list of people willing to contribute money to the budget.
Commander-in-Chief, July 23, 2014
April 24 2012
There are no absolutely legal grounds for initiating criminal proceedings against individuals who made procedural decisions. Thousands of criminal cases are first closed, then reopened, and sent to court. I believe we remained within the law in our decision to close the case. There's a stereotype that presidents give orders to prosecutors general. But never, not once did Kuchma give me instructions on specific criminal cases. Sometimes he focused on specific regions, departments, or problems. He said, for example, to address the rising cost of medications. Or to urgently address the grain crisis, the problems and fraud in the market. But I never said I should put Ivanov or Petrov in jail—that never happened.
League, April 24, 2012
October 07 2011
Every government has its flaws. So, did the Orange government have no flaws? Remember Yushchenko, who illegally dissolved parliament on April 2, 2007. Everyone knows he committed a crime. But they haven't gotten around to it yet, and they definitely will. This just goes to show that our government isn't settling scores with its opponents. Believe me, to gain electoral ground in eastern Ukraine, it would be very advantageous for the government to initiate criminal prosecutions against the former president and long-standing ideological and political opponent. And what do you think, if someone had decided to arrest Yushchenko, what would the ruling party's approval ratings in eastern Ukraine be? 90-95 percent? However, as we see, no such prosecutions are taking place.
Most closely associated with:
Viktor Yanukovych, Petr Melnik, Alexander Shmorgun, Nikolai Stoyanov
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