Oleg Peretyaka
The Prosecutor General's Office has closed the case against former Party of Regions faction leader Oleksandr Yefremov, dropping the case for inciting ethnic hatred (or, in fact, for calling for the disintegration of Ukraine). A group of Opposition Bloc deputies submitted to the Verkhovna Rada a bill "On the specifics of governing certain territories of the Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts," which proposes creating a so-called Interregional Territorial Association of Donbas. This ITA will operate by its own laws and be governed by a "chief" elected every five years. And it seems this will be Akhmetov, who has once again emerged from the shadows and is actively holding meetings in Kyiv. Moreover, during his visit to Donbas, Petro Poroshenko hinted strongly that anyone who "has Ukraine in their heart" can participate in the elections in the uncontrolled territory—Akhmetov, for example.
Oleh Peretyaka, an investigative journalist who has written extensively about the godfathers of Luhansk Oblast, believes the next step will be Yefremov's political reincarnation as a representative of the "LPR/DPR people" in the Verkhovna Rada. He shared with ORD his thoughts on why the prosecutor's office is protecting one of the leading separatists and recounted some amusing anecdotes from the biographies of Yefremov and his fellow countrywoman, Korolevska.
— The prosecutor's office dropped its prosecution of Efremov? Does this make you feel like the Prosecutor General's Office is protecting the mafia? That there's collusion?
"If things continue like this, we'll soon see Yefremov in the Ukrainian parliament representing the Donbas Interregional Territorial Association. There's a de facto conspiracy between the previous and current authorities, as none of Yanukovych's people are in jail. I believe the comedy is over, the masks have been torn off."
— Is there a connection between the dropping of charges against Yefremov and the registration of the bill regarding the "Donbass MTO"?
"That's plausible. I think he'll be able to run for the MTO and officially return to big-time politics on a white horse."
— As a member of the Verkhovna Rada from the united enclave of the "LPR-DPR"?
— Of course. Alternatively, Akhmetov could be a prefect (the draft law "On Amendments to the Constitution" contains articles regarding prefects, who are to be appointed by the President – editor's note), and Yefremov as a people's deputy from the "people's republics."
"Are there no ideological separatists left among the living? Won't they kill Yefremov if he shows up in the 'LPR'?"
— Why not? There are ideological separatists on Ukrainian territory too (they left to wait out the war), but oligarch-party groups (I call them organized crime groups) are colluding. They can "knock them out" in Kyiv, too. But they're more likely to knock out an ideological one—they don't last long, unlike the unprincipled and spineless.
— Don't believe in elections in the "LPR-DPR" territory?
"It's a lie. The main feudal lord, Poroshenko, is willing to hand over lands he doesn't control to people he thinks can handle it. I heard Poroshenko say he'll listen to the votes of the people of Donetsk and Luhansk who support Akhmetov. But what if they vote for some militant? Will he agree to that option, too?"
Not a single pro-Ukrainian person who supported the "Kyiv junta" will be able to participate in these "elections." For example, I'm number 17 on the "LPR" enemy list. I was in Stanytsia Luhanska 10 days ago, in my hometown, where local residents threw three grenades into the house of the new school principal—a young man who replaced the headmistress who had held an anti-Ukrainian "referendum." This is what they do in Ukrainian-controlled territory! To say nothing of the uncontrolled...
— Your investigation into the uneducated minister, Korolevskaya, received a lot of publicity. Were you able to get her to start studying?
"First, I decided to analyze how Efremov defended his doctoral dissertation. How could he, a techie with no economics background, defend his thesis in economics? In his biography, he wrote that in 1996 he received a master's degree from the International Personnel Academy, which was part of MAUP. I found this personnel academy—no one had ever issued such certificates. Meanwhile, Gennady Moskal wrote that Korolevskaya had lost her diploma from the same Dahl University where Efremov defended his dissertation. Then I decided to look at her dissertation as well—she's a candidate, after all!"
As a result, I discovered that Korolevskaya didn't have a higher education when she served as minister. She spent a year studying in Alchevsk, at the so-called "International Institute of Management, Business, and Law," which was unlicensed. Then, supposedly, she transferred to Luhansk for her second year, to Dahl University. I obtained a copy of her record book and saw the name of a professor I knew. He said, "I know the Korolevskaya family personally; I would remember Natasha among the students." Even the inexperienced eye could see from the copy of the document that Korolevskaya's record book was fake—all the entries, except for "Korolevskaya N.Yu.", were unclear and had been made at a different time. I posted a message on my blog: "Looking for Korolevskaya's classmates." No one remembered the student at Dahl University. Without a higher education, she defended her PhD in economics at the same university.
Natalia is currently studying at Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv. In two months, she'll be defending her master's degree in Public Administration. The department confirmed that she attends. I wasn't able to catch her in class, but she had to take the exam with everyone else. I went to the exam, wanting to ask her the questions she'd refused to ask as a minister, but she retreated.
— And how did the criminal case regarding diploma forgery end?
"I contacted law enforcement, pointing out that Korolevskaya didn't have a diploma, which, according to her, she lost when it was time for her to become minister. I think the rector of Dahl University was interested in the forgery, and I have an idea why. Korolevskaya built the "Oxford" residential complex on the university grounds, and the rector's family received an apartment there. That's why it was easy for her to obtain a duplicate of the non-existent diploma. As the saying goes: "You give to me, I'll give to you!"
In Luhansk, no one investigated the forgery. I overturned the investigator's decision twice and appealed to Prosecutor General Pshonka. Until I learned that his son, Artem, was Korolevskaya's godfather. Then the war began, and at my insistence, the case was transferred to the Prosecutor General's Office, which then sent it to the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, and eventually it ended up in the hands of Investigator Girich.
In September 2014, I called her and said I was already in Kyiv and asked to be kept informed. But even the "renewed" security agencies were uninterested in pursuing cases involving representatives of the former government. Investigator Girich didn't even call me after issuing a ruling refusing to open a criminal case. I found out about this in 2015: "We closed it a year ago, and they sent you a denial." "Where?" "To Luhansk." I had to rescind the denial again through the Pechersk Court. After reviewing the case materials, I discovered many interesting facts: in 2014, operatives allegedly seized the personal documents of a "student" from the university. The officer, who was allegedly transporting Korolevskaya's documents in his vehicle, was stopped by "militia" in the town of Shchastya. They allegedly conducted a search, after which the documents disappeared. Allegedly, these were her original documents. But the university no longer had the originals when I began my investigation. There was a photocopy of her grade book, clearly marked as a forgery, along with other counterfeit photocopies. I believe the university administration, in collusion with Korolevskaya, confiscated the "student's" file after she "lost" her diploma. Instead of the originals, they inserted a forged letter from the regional Ministry of Internal Affairs into her personal file, claiming to have requested our Natasha's documents but then returning only the fake copies to the university.
— Why don’t you think even this simple matter was investigated?
"Investigators are given 'instructions' from above, but in reality, nothing changes. Yanukovych came to power and jailed Tymoshenko and Lutsenko, and Vadym Goran (head of the Luhansk Fellowship in Kyiv, Yefremov's henchman, a purged prosecutor – editor's note), serving the oligarchs' interests, defended the legality of Tymoshenko and Lutsenko's imprisonment. The government changed – Yefremov was jailed for show. And now everything has returned to normal."
— What is the value of Efremov’s contribution to science?
— In December 2012, Mr. Efremov defended his doctoral dissertation, "Methodology of Managing Innovative Enterprise Development," at the Dahl East Ukrainian University. Incidentally, Korolevskaya and Efremov shared the same supervisor, Irina Romanovna Buzko. I went to the university library and barely managed to obtain permission to view this treasure of science. Efremov's dissertation contained no scientific idea, no research, no experiments; it merely cited Russian publications. While he was working on his dissertation, one can only marvel at Efremov's productivity: in a year and a half, he published 16 scientific articles totaling 83 pages! Not every university department operates with such productivity... His PhD dissertation was equally "profound." According to Efremov's "scientific" calculations, made in the early 2000s, the average salary of his fellow countrymen for the period 2001-2010 was... was supposed to be 210 hryvnias, and in the period 2011-2025 - reach 250 hryvnias!
An interesting "scientific debate" unfolded between learned men and a now-MP, the leader of the Party of Regions faction, during his doctoral dissertation defense—he gave them a political briefing (I found a copy of the minutes). Although a doctoral dissertation is a significant contribution to science, practically a discovery... In essence, it's a travesty, a common practice among MPs and officials. Once they gain power, they begin buying regalia, titles, dissertations, and the slaves to write them. "Professor" Yanukovych started it all.
— What is the origin of these “PR scientists” who like to present themselves as people of the people?
— Efremov, a representative of the young Soviet nomenklatura, the former first secretary of the Luhansk city committee of the Komsomol, brought the collapse of the USSR to bankruptcy and bought up the assets of Luhansk enterprises for nothing.
The Korolevskaya family once took over Luganskholod (where "Korolevskoye" ice cream was made). Her millions began with the "scrap metal business"—driving enterprises into bankruptcy and stripping them of their scrap metal, then came the coal mines. Her older brother, Konstantin, worked in the Moscow government with Luzhkov. For people like that, politics is a lucrative business.
— To what extent did they lose their positions during the war?
"In the 'LPR,' the Korolevskaya family is doing well. In Krasnyi Luch (LPR), MP Solod's (her husband) businesses are thriving. And the 'kopankas' (coal mines) that Korolevskaya protected are working, supplying coal to Shchastya—the Luhansk Thermal Power Plant that provides electricity to Luhansk and the surrounding area. Business is international—whether in the occupied territory or here—businessmen find common ground, and coal comes from the occupied territory, as if from "far abroad."
During the war, Korolevska and her husband became MPs; their family lost nothing. But Yefremov became a "prisoner of conscience." This entire criminal group—Luhansk residents Tikhonov, Golenko, Pristyuk, Khunov, and Yefremov (I call them members of the same organized crime group)—they spent decades carving up the Luhansk region and preparing the ground for the "Russian Spring." They brought war to my homeland! And what happened? Governor Pristyuk is now in Kyiv, Khunov is in Kyiv, and former Luhansk mayor Kravchenko has an apartment in Kyiv but lives somewhere else in Ukraine. And the current government hasn't charged any of them with anything. You never know—they might return to their positions in Luhansk and Kyiv, which they lost two years ago.
— Which of them is closest in business and friendly ties to the current “LPR government”?
"Plotnitsky is directly connected to Yefremov. Honored Ukrainian journalist Miroshnik, at Yefremov's instigation, served as Yanukovych's press secretary and now works as Plotnitsky's advisor. Bolotov previously worked for Yefremov. All the "LPR" connections lead back to Yefremov. Yefremov was and, it seems, will remain the main feudal lord there, a bridge between the "LPR" and Kyiv.
"I often hear from Luhansk residents that Yefremov is hated in his homeland. Will the people of the so-called 'LPR-DPR' really vote for him and his ilk? It sounds incredible, considering Plotnitsky promised to arrest MP Boyko if he ever set foot in those territories. At least Akhmetov helped with humanitarian aid, while Yefremov simply stripped the region bare."
"Plotnitsky isn't liked either. He came to power with the help of bogus 'social cards' and promises, but that doesn't stop him from ruling and running his business in Luhansk. When the time comes, he'll simply move from his seat to make way for his boss. And he'll still be standing in front of Yefremov, hunched over. Plotnitsky was on Yefremov's team before the war, and he wouldn't dare say a word against Yefremov."
Yefremov's prospects are very bright. I think the Prosecutor General's Office will soon drop its other claims against him, all suspicions will be lifted, and he will receive support from the current government for his fiefdom—the entire Luhansk Oblast. The Party of Regions electorate in eastern Ukraine was left dissatisfied, and the current policy of the Ukrainian government is aimed at bringing Yefremov's people back into politics and business. The Luhansk and Donetsk electorates are now being targeted. That's why the Opposition Bloc is submitting a bill that would legitimize terrorists within the Ukrainian state, and the Party of Regions representatives who plundered those areas will receive a new lease on life.
— What is your forecast for MOD?
"We were deceived in the 90s, when the Soviet nomenklatura, having merged with the criminal underworld, became big business, and left the country in a Soviet state. Since then, we've seen a seesaw: one oligarchic clan replaces another."
We already went through this in 2004: "These hands didn't steal," yet everything was stolen; "Bandits should be in prison," yet not a single bandit or looter from our country is in prison. Now the situation is similar. Boyko should be in prison for embezzlement ("Boyko's towers"), yet he is being discussed as a possible "viceroy" in Luhansk Oblast. The situation is similar with the leading oligarch, Akhmetov, who is making plans to return to Donetsk. It's a great shame for our country, which gained independence 24 years ago and, thanks to the oligarchs, has practically lost it.
If the plan to create the "Interregional Territorial Association of Donbass" is implemented, Ukraine can be written off. As a medical doctor by training, I can tell you (I have a PhD in public administration – editor's note) that this terrorist abscess will prevent our country from developing normally, but will continue to poison all of Ukraine. I fear that representatives of oligarchic party groups may even vote in parliament for this "abscess" in the form of the "Interregional Territorial Association of Donbass," following the lead of President Poroshenko, who is dependent on external forces. If they merge into one pack to prevent new elections, they will vote for any nonsense, just to prolong their tenure in the Verkhovna Rada.
— What if Ukraine demonstrated that the principle of the inevitability of punishment applies to regional plunderers like Yefremov and Korolevskaya? Could that influence the mood of people within the "LPR/DPR"?
"I think this could change people's attitudes toward Ukraine in the uncontrolled territories. They value strong government and justice. Two years ago, Luhansk residents said, 'We're against the oligarchs, against the oligarchic junta, but not against Ukraine.' It's true—now many of them pretend not to notice how Plotnitsky, who sits at the "LNR" trough, stole around 30 million in American cash. The mood of residents in the uncontrolled territories would be more affected if they saw that reforms were underway in Ukraine, that the fight against oligarchs and corruption was underway, and that the government was thinking about ordinary people, not their own businesses."
Interviewed by Tatyana Zarovnaya, ORD
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