Evgeny Muraev. Big Ambitions or Banal Political Prostitution. Part 1
Ukrainian MP and presidential candidate Yevhen Murayev, who became a millionaire immediately after graduating, now positions himself as a pro-Russian politician. But few know that Yevhen Vladimirovich's main passion is political prostitution, which he has been successfully engaging in for over a decade. The MP doesn't hesitate to accept money from both Russian propagandists and Ukrainian nationalists.
Born, studied, married successfully
The official biography of Yevgeny Vladimirovich Muraev is reminiscent of the fairy tale "Puss in Boots," where the protagonist, without any effort, instantly acquires both wealth and a title. Did the future deputy really have enough resourcefulness and academic knowledge to skyrocket his career? Let's find out.
Yevgeny Vladimirovich Muraev was born on December 2, 1976, in Zmiev, Kharkiv Oblast. His father, Vladimir Kuzmich Muraev, is the general director of Rapid JSC. His mother, Olga Alekseyevna Muraeva, is an associate professor in the chemistry department at the A. N. Beketov Kharkiv National University of Municipal Economy. Several media outlets have attributed the MP's relationship to the former Ukrainian prime minister. Nikolai Azarov, but myself Muraev denies this fact..
Yevhen Vladimirovich graduated from Kharkiv Physics and Mathematics Lyceum No. 27, after which, in 1994, he entered the economics department of Kharkiv State University (N.Karazin Kharkiv National University). He graduated with honors in 1999. Murayev earned his second higher education degree while already a member of parliament: in 2014, he graduated with honors from the Yaroslav the Wise National Law University.
It's worth noting that Evgeny Muraev actively protects his reputation and regularly pays exorbitant sums to the media to portray him in the best light. The internet is replete with commissioned articles about the millionaire's arduous journey. However, PR professionals occasionally miscalculate and make serious blunders. For example, on the website offshoreview.eu It's said that after graduating from university in 1999, Muraev took charge of a private company just six months later. It appears the company greeted the student with open arms and shouts of, "We've been waiting for you all this time to take over!" Incidentally, I wonder where the old director went? He was talking about Anklav LLC (wholesale petroleum products). After a year there, the future MP left to manage a new company. From 2001 to 2007, he was director of MKM-Kharkiv LLC (fuel and lubricants trading). From 2009 to 2010, he served as general director of Vostochnaya Financial Group LLC.
It's worth noting that Muraev earned his first million at the age of 22, in the fuel and lubricants trade. Indeed, Yevgeny Vladimirovich's entire career before entering politics was tied to this sector of the economy.
It's worth noting that in the early 2000s, breaking into the fuel and lubricants business was no longer easy, as all the niches had been occupied since the 90s. Nevertheless, with the protection of Oleg Taranov, president of UkrSibbank, a member of parliament from 1994 to 1998, deputy minister of the Cabinet of Ministers, and head of the National Agency for Management of State Corporate Rights, Muraev successfully entered the fuel business. Taranov soon became the future member of parliament's father-in-law.
Evgeny Muraev with Valeria Muraeva
Evgeny Muraev's career was not without support Vadim Rabinovich, who, by the way, is the uncle of Valeria Muraeva (the wife of Evgeny Muraev until 2017).
However, that's all we know about Yevgeny Muraev as a future politician. The rest of our hero's biography is a political thriller.
A little man has a big road
Yevgeny Murayev entered politics in 2006. At that time, he was elected as a deputy of the Kharkiv Regional Council of the 5th convocation from the Veche party, which was led at that time Inna BogoslovskayaThis is where Muraev's career as a political prostitute begins. Lobbying for his own business interests and seeking a cushy spot at the trough, the future politician begins to dart between parties and factions, alternately kissing the backsides of oligarchs and spitting in their faces.
In the regional council, Yevhen Vladimirovich headed the standing committee on fuel and energy issues, energy conservation, and housing and public utilities, thereby ensuring unimpeded lobbying of his own business interests in the Kharkiv region.
In 2010, Muraev again won a seat on the regional council, this time as a member of the Party of Regions. And on April 15, 2010, by order of the President of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych Yevgeny Murayev was appointed Chairman of the Zmiev District State Administration. During this period, our hero developed a close friendship with Mikhail Dobkin и Gennady Kernes, with whom he maintains good relations to this day.
Evgeny Muraev with Gennady Kernes
On November 21, 2012, Muraev was dismissed from his post as head of the district in connection with his election to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine in single-member constituency No. 181 from the Party of Regions. Until June 2014, he was a member of the Party of Regions faction, and then moved to the For Peace and Stability group, formed by former members of the Party of Regions and communists (the group was associated with the Yanukovych "family" represented by Sergei Kurchenko, Sergei Arbuzov and Alexandra Klimenko).
On October 26, 2014, Muraev was re-elected to parliament from the Opposition Bloc party and became a member of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Tax and Customs Policy.
Two years later, the politician announced his departure from the Opposition Bloc faction. He then formed the For Life party with Vadim Rabinovich.
Evgeny Muraev and Vadim Rabinovich
And already on September 21, 2018, the people's deputy announced his resignation from it, accusing his boss of working for Petro Poroshenko It's worth noting that at this time, Vadim Rabinovich was already leaning toward supporting Yulia Tymoshenko, not the incumbent president, and was also planning to unite with the Opposition Bloc. Muraev, however, was not at all happy with this arrangement; moreover, according to Skelet.Org, it irritated him Victor Medvedchuk, who joined the party and was more in demand as a politician in the southeast. But we'll return to this story later; for now, let's focus on the chronology of events.
Slamming the door loudly, Muraev stated"We will take people, ideas, your trust and support. For us, politics is not a business project capable of ensuring a comfortable retirement or a hastily thrown together talk show. We are creating a party that will not be filled with random people. I am ready to stand at the forefront and offer Ukraine a vision for a country it has never had."
Evgeny Muraev. Big Ambitions or Banal Political Prostitution. Part 1
At the time, political expert Vladimir Makarovsky was convinced that Yevgeny Murayev had shown himself to be a real buffoon by defecting to the "Banderites" with the money of former Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk.
"Over the weekend, the Ukrainian internet was abuzz with news of a statement by Yevgeny Murayev, the 'leader' of the fake pseudo-party 'Nashi.' For those who missed it, here's the gist: Zhenechka took offense at his former comrades (whom he himself had betrayed) and filed a denunciation against them with the SBU. In principle, this wouldn't be surprising—just another betrayal by a petty buffoon—if not for one 'but': Murayev accuses his former comrades of being... 'the hand of the Kremlin,' 'a fifth column,' and 'the only pro-Kremlin project in Ukraine,'" the expert wrote.
According to him, Muraev himself suddenly began calling his party the only pro-Ukrainian one, despite previously expressing an openly pro-Russian position. The expert linked Muraev's abrupt change in political views to the influence of former Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk.
"We now see Yevgeny Murayev lurching from one extreme to the other – from pro-Russian positions to de facto 'fascism.' Naturally, this saccharine buffoon isn't committing these vile acts without a reason. This is a true betrayal of his convictions, his former comrades, and his principles. As far as I know, Zhenechka is 'cheating' at the expense of Arseniy Yatsenyuk, who is trying to somehow improve his dire political situation," the political scientist emphasized.
On September 25, 2018, Evgeny Muraev announced the creation of a new party, "NASHI," which he himself headed.
At the same time, it's interesting that Yevgeny Vladimirovich's divorce from Valeria Muraeva was accompanied by a huge scandal. How could it be otherwise, if the MP left his wife for a young actress?
During their divorce proceedings in Kharkiv's Dzerzhinsky District Court, spouses Evgeny and Valeria Muraev stated that they had "lost trust and respect for each other."
But it is noteworthy that Valeria Muraeva, already divorced, followed her ex-husband in leaving her uncle’s party and joining “NASHI.”
The party's program is quite clear and calls for Ukraine's independence, transition to a parliamentary republic, and federalization. To end the war, Muraev proposes holding negotiations between Ukraine, Russia, the United States, and the unrecognized republics of Donbas, ending the blockade, and punishing those responsible for starting the conflict.
Already in December 2018, the Ukrainian people's deputy announced his participation in the presidential elections.
"The decision still needs to be confirmed by the congress, but I understand that I must run for president. We've discussed time and again that the coming political year is critical, with turning points. If the balance can't be restored, if those who are currently in power remain in power for another five years, we will lose our state," he wrote on his Facebook page.
Incidentally, as for Muraev's performance as a deputy, it's simply nonexistent. He skipped 71% of Verkhovna Rada meetings for unknown reasons. This year, he was included on the list of the least productive Verkhovna Rada deputies. In fact, our hero topped the list. Over four years, he submitted 160 draft laws, none of which were adopted, and 58 of Muraev's 65 amendments were rejected. Yevgeny Vladimirovich spoke from the podium only once. All this suggests that Muraev entered politics solely to gain new leverage for lobbying his own business, as well as in search of additional sources of enrichment.
Kharkiv media mogul
In February 2014, Yevhen Murayev purchased the News One television channel from Vadim Rabinovich, which became his main media outlet, and began promoting him as a public figure of national significance. Essentially, this was a premeditated move by his fellow party members. It's unlikely that if Rabinovich had known how his political friendship with his niece's husband would end, he would have sold his channel to Murayev for a pittance. Incidentally, at the same time, the wife of MP Valeriy Murayev acquired the Kharkiv internet channel Robinson TV, which subsequently continued the politician's PR campaign.
Muraev's NewsOne didn't last long. With his harsh statements, often of a separatist nature, the people's deputy brought the media to heel. The final straw was Muraev's statement that the Euromaidan was a coup d'état.
Following this, the Minister of Internal Affairs, the Prosecutor General, and several members of parliament called not only for the channel's closure but also for Yevgeny Vladimirovich to be jailed. The public also weighed in. Ultimately, the owner was forced to sell the channel.
Thus, at the end of August 2018, NewsOne, whose formal owner, by the way, was not the MP, but his father, was transferred to the management of the former deputy head of the Presidential Administration of Ukraine Yanukovych for a period of three years. To Andrey PortnovThe channel was later transferred to the ownership of Taras Kozak (Viktor Medvedchuk's partner). The Verkhovna Rada's decision to close the channel followed after this.
Vladimir Muraev is the father of Evgeny Muraev
Incidentally, Muraev's media outlets are also linked to the Antifashist website and the Rossiya Segodnya news agency. As it became known Skelet.OrgThis information is legitimate. It's worth noting, however, that both projects do not reflect Muraev's political ideology; they are purely business ventures, as the MP is accustomed to making money on everything.
Immediately after leaving NewsOne, Evgeny Vladimirovich began creating a new television project, “NASH”. Skelet.Org There is information that the TV channel is financed by structures associated with a Russian businessman Pavel Fuchs and former People's Deputy from the Party of Regions, Vilen Shatvoryan, who was previously an assistant to Viktor Yanukovych Jr.
The Russian presence behind Muraev's new TV channel has been vexing nationalists for a long time. They even attempted to surround his office with barbed wire and block the work of Muraev's media outlet, but were stopped by law enforcement officers who arrived on the scene.
Incidentally, the police's efficiency is extremely surprising. I remember when nationalists were blocking other media outlets, journalists were besieged for nearly a day. And now, literally an hour later, the protesters vanished as if by the wind. The authorities couldn't have done it without their help. Many are probably already wondering, under whose wing is Yevgeny Murayev basking today? We'll definitely answer that, but a little later.
Valeria Romanova, for Skelet.Org
CONTINUED: Evgeny Muraev. Big Ambitions or Banal Political Prostitution. Part 2
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