One of the main election topics that the Opposition Bloc is currently actively promoting in Mykolaiv and the Mykolaiv region is citizen safety.
On June 11, 2015, at the founding meeting of the Opposition Bloc in Nikolaev, the “central” figures of the Sabbath – the head of the regional party organization, People’s Deputy Alexander Nechayev and the first deputy of the regional party organization Igor Dyatlov – along with the hackneyed topic of “industrialization,” suddenly took up the topic of security.
Igor Dyatlov, the newly elected head of the city party organization at the same meeting, former head of the Mykolaiv Regional Council and ex-member of the Party of Regions, spoke passionately: "The security of Mykolaiv residents, along with economic stabilization, must become one of the most important issues facing the mayor's office after our election victory. People are counting on us because they have no one else to count on!!!" Thunderous applause, turning into a standing ovation, brought tears of joy to the eyes of the "opposition" members.
To be fair, it should be noted that security is indeed a pressing issue for the city. According to official data from the city's Ministry of Internal Affairs, the number of crimes committed in Mykolaiv in the first half of 2015 increased by a quarter compared to the previous year. This is, among other things, due to the increase in the number of unregistered weapons brought in from the ATO zone.
Considering this, one can’t help but feel some sympathy for people who care about the lives and health of their fellow countrymen.
The only problem is that Igor Dyatlov is better known in Nikolaev as "Kruglov's cashier," who participated in all of Nikolai Petrovich's key achievements as governor and played a significant role in them. And coming from him, any talk of protecting citizens sounds like a mockery.
Cartoon for adults
The name of Nikolai Kruglov's closest "business partner" is no secret to anyone in the city of shipbuilders. At the time, it was Mikhail Titov, a citizen convicted of double murder and known by the nickname "Multik." At that time, the doors of any office were hospitably open to this "authoritative businessman" and his equally odious colleagues.
As informed journalists from the publication "Sled" write, government officials of all stripes considered it an honor and privilege not only to be friends with Multik and his deputy, Gurgen Oronyuk (nicknamed "Gurik"), but also to establish family ties.
At that time, the crime bosses were particularly close friends, including with Sergei Dyatlov, a Party of Regions member of the Mykolaiv City Council. Yes, that same Sergei Dyatlov—the proud father of Igor Dyatlov, the current head of the local Opposition Bloc. The friends regularly met at the Kazbek restaurant.
Dyatlov Jr. began his rise to power very early. In 2006, at the age of 25, he became a regional council member, and in 2008, he became the head of the largest faction, the Party of Regions. Two years later, in 2010, this young talent became the head of the regional council and enjoyed a comfortable tenure until the victory of the Maidan revolution.
While at the pinnacle of regional power from 2010 to 2014, the newly minted defender of the rule of law, I. Dyatlov, maintained a polite silence, utterly oblivious to what was happening in the region at the time. He remained silent because all this time, his cronies Multik and Gurik, under the patronage of his mentor, Kruglov, were tearing the city and the region apart.
Chicago on Ingul
The events of those years are unlikely to be forgotten by the particularly impressionable residents of Nikolaev. So, in 2010, Dyatlov became the head of the regional council. Essentially, he became the second or third most powerful person in the region.
If you search for "Mykolaiv" and "murder," a hair-raising list appears. Something like this has only happened in Donbas.
On September 7, 2011, the body of 19-year-old Marina Lyubota was discovered. The murder remains unsolved.
On November 19, 2011, 41-year-old Gennady Kulik, the owner of a currency exchange business, died on Frunze Street in Nikolaev. Several men attacked the businessman in the courtyard of his home, one of whom shot him in the chest.
On March 1, 2012, unknown persons shot and killed a 72-year-old resident of Nikolaev, who was buying and selling currency on the territory of the Central Market.
On May 10, 2012, a businessman who worked in currency exchange in Nikolaev died as a result of a bullet wound to the neck in the parking lot of the Kolos market.
On March 25, 2013, two businessmen were killed in the city.
On May 15, 2013, businessman Anton Zubatin was killed in the elevator of his apartment building. He was shot with a 10-round burst. According to law enforcement, the gunmen used either an Uzi submachine gun or a Borz submachine gun.
On June 4, 2013, a minibus driver was shot in the leg in broad daylight. The shooter simply wanted to vent his frustration over his car being scratched.
On December 9, 2013, a jewelry store was raided in Nikolaev, and on December 10, two attackers shot at a businessman, robbing him of 1 million hryvnias.
A particularly notable murder occurred on April 27, 2012. Anatoly Batalov, better known by his nickname "Tokha," was gunned down at the intersection of Lenin Avenue and Faleevskaya Street. Batalov was part of the Multik-Gurik gang and participated in the corporate raid on the aforementioned pizza chain, which he oversaw on behalf of his senior associates. The Dyatlov family attended Batalov's funeral, which was attended by the entire criminal elite.
Businessman Pyotr Barashkovsky was suspected of Batalov's murder. In 2011, he was kidnapped by unknown individuals posing as UBOP officers and brutally tortured, including having part of his tongue cut out. The motive was Barashkovsky, who owned an agricultural enterprise in the Bashtansky district,'s reluctance to contact Multik. Batalov was implicated in the kidnapping and torture by Nikolaev media.
But Nikolaev wasn't only "famous" for murders in those years. The city was plagued by constant attacks on businesses. High-profile enterprise takeovers occurred almost weekly.
On July 13, 2010, the staff of the Nikolaev Trade Port made a statement to local media about the threat of a hostile takeover of their enterprise.
On July 12, 2012, a hostile takeover of the Mykolaiv Oblastgroshlyakhbud enterprise occurred. That same year, the Spartak sports center was also seized.
On February 5, 2013, Ukrainian Metal Structures LLC was raided. That evening, unknown masked individuals in uniforms stormed the premises, evicted all employees, and then blocked the gates.
On February 22, 2013, another hostile takeover attempt was made at the Central Market in Mykolaiv. Fifty masked individuals, along with representatives of the enforcement service, stormed the Central Market administration office.
And this is far from a complete list of the high-profile crimes committed back then. The abomination that unfolded in the region was unfathomable. The story of Oksana Makar resonated throughout Ukraine. The events in the 132nd electoral district in Pervomaisk were blacklisted.
As we can see, there was a lot of shooting back then, even though there was no anti-terrorist operation yet. But there were bandits, and Dyatlov held a high position during their reign.
Revenge of crime?
Following the events on Maidan, Mykolaiv's criminal leaders and their accomplices from the previous government retreated into the shadows. However, they consistently traded their business dealings for political ones. Suffice it to mention the "Mykolaiv People's Republic" project, the creation of which Dyatlov himself fervently called on city residents in 2014. Isn't this a contribution to strengthening stability and security in the region? It's precisely because of the separatism case that Dyatlov is currently under pressure from law enforcement, so he's prepared to escalate the situation.
Even the incident with the once-influential Gurik failed to convince Dyatlov. On March 3, 2014, Gurgen Oronyuk entered the restroom of the Bulvar café and shot himself. A number of theories surfaced in the media, ranging from a gangland showdown to revenge by Russian intelligence agencies. But the most widely publicized theory was that Gurik had been conducting some kind of joint business in Turkey with Al Qaeda representatives. At some point, he had cheated his "partners." They, unforgiving, forced Gurik to commit suicide by threatening to kill his loved ones.
The point is that playing with gangsters never ends well. Now Nikolaev essentially finds himself facing criminal revenge.
The Opposition Bloc bandits hope to form a majority in the city and regional councils after the elections with their accomplices, who are running under the "Vidrodzhennya" brand. As a reminder, current Opposition Bloc leader Igor Dyatlov and Vedra frontman Artem Ilyuk are linked by a "fruitful collaboration."
Before the 2012 elections, these two initiated the high-profile "Heart of the City" project, which was intended to reconstruct and create a historical and cultural center for Mykolaiv, uniting the areas around the Staroflotskie Barracks, the 61st Communard Park, and Proletarsky Square. But this project ultimately resulted in embezzlement of budget funds, for which no one was held accountable.
If Dyatlov and Ilyuk succeed in their plan, the city of Mykolaiv will fall under the complete control of a sophisticated, unscrupulous criminal group, which will exploit pro-Russian and opposition rhetoric for its own ends. They could very well activate the "Mykolaiv People's Republic" to negotiate with Kyiv. But, as we've seen in practice, playing with "republics" brings a lot of grief to the people. So, city residents should think carefully about whom to vote for.
Mikhail Karpenko, for IS-YUG
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