Everyone remembers the timeless classic of Soviet cinema, "Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears," and that very visit to Georgy Ivanovich. So, it's precisely these images that involuntarily come to mind when looking through the list of people's candidates from the Petro Poroshenko Bloc, recently published by Ukrayinska Pravda.
Ivan Bidnyk topped the pro-presidential list in the 184th electoral district of the Kherson region. We are confident that this information requires verification, as the person who has been popping up at public events in the run-up to the elections recently is precisely Bidnyk. Ivan Vinnik, a former businessman and director who bankrupted an aerated concrete plant in Nova Kakhovka. Other news agencies are presenting the parliamentary candidate as Volodymyr Vynnyk.
Let's try to understand why a man who must earn votes by nothing less than his name would resort to such conspiratorial tactics before officially registering as a people's deputy. The point is that most Kakhovka residents are familiar with the original, not the erroneous, name of Ivan Vynnyk—as the saying goes, "everyone will be rewarded according to their deeds." And what Vynnyk will absolutely not be able to conceal is his activities. While managing the aforementioned aerated concrete plant, "Building Materials Plant," Ivan skillfully implemented schemes to siphon off the company's assets through subsidiaries (criminal cases mention Beton Tavria, the company to which all the plant's assets were siphoned off).
At the Independence Day celebrations, Vynnyk wasn't greeted with applause either. Instead, he was met with chants of "Give the people the money, you shameful Ivan!" from former employees who hadn't seen their salaries for two or three months, amounting to no less than one and a half million hryvnias. And not only did the workers lose their wages; the state also suffered financial losses, as Ivan Yulievych, while leading ZSM, skillfully evaded taxes, resulting in VAT shortfalls of approximately 500 hryvnias.
While an unfortunate typo in Ivan Vynnyk's name appears on party lists, his appearance on city lights and billboards under the slogan "Ukraine Will Win" has also caused quite a stir. "Shakhrai"—these are the words written on the candidate's face. After all, there are witnesses who claim that when Vynnyk left the plant, he took valuable property and equipment with him in a company vehicle. Another person, according to Vynnyk's friend, Dmitry Vasyliev, helped organize multiple corporate raids on the plant by armed thugs who shamelessly called themselves the "Kherson Self-Defense." However, thanks to conscientious employees and law enforcement, this plan repeatedly failed miserably for Ivan Vynnyk.
But, as usual, a thief has no shame in stealing, so Vynnyk decided to go beyond the assets he'd siphoned off from the company. One of his top managers received financial assistance in the amount of 20 million hryvnias deposited into his personal bank account. Who knows who else Vynnyk might have promised assistance to, now that he's on the party list?
But this was Vynnyk's financial and economic model in 2013. Now let's return to the present day. Recently, during a meeting with businesses to discuss problematic issues related to the functioning of regional enterprises, Andriy Putilov, head of the Kherson regional state administration, introduced Ivan Vynnyk as the governor's assistant for economic issues! It's worth noting that one of the most important tasks set by the governor on behalf of the President of Ukraine was to build new, European-style relationships between government, business, and the public. At the same time, the governor noted that the authorities are already ready to extend a helping hand and provide protection from pressure from law enforcement and regulatory agencies for entrepreneurs and industrialists who create new jobs and contribute to GDP growth.
Naturally, there's concern about how well Vynnyk will meet the new demands of the regional leadership and whether he will be able, not to strengthen the regional team, but rather discredit it in every sense and aspiration. This is because the total losses during Ivan Yulievych's tenure at the company are estimated at 250 million hryvnias. The company was plagued by one disaster after another: the unlicensed use of a water well in violation of all environmental regulations, and a debt of almost 820 hryvnias to Khersonoblenergo for electricity. Thus, under Vynnyk, the company, with its electricity debts and the environmental threat to the city, existed.
It's clear that any manager will spend funds wisely for the company and strive to manage its operations prudently, after all, they're investing their hard-earned savings to get it off the ground. But this isn't the case with Vynnyk either. Despite his persistent claims that he owns the plant, the enterprise was built entirely with borrowed funds. And now the debt to the creditor amounts to over 335 million hryvnias, which is being collected from him through legal proceedings. And in this way, Vynnyk forgives everyone he owes: PrivatBank, which loaned Global Concentrate, a company associated with Vynnyk, 10 million hryvnias (the company successfully went bankrupt); The Chumak company, where he began his career and which entrusted ZSM with the safekeeping of 8 million hryvnias worth of aerated concrete (the aerated concrete remained at the plant because the company was unable to retrieve it later), and even a Russian citizen, a certain Zykova, who, at Vinnik's request, borrowed approximately 7 million US dollars to begin construction of the plant. Of course, the court ordered the debtor's temporary travel ban and the confiscation of his passport until Vinnik fulfilled his obligations. And now, since our candidate is banned from traveling abroad, he has only one option left—running for parliament.
So, either Bidnyk or Vynnyk, who hasn't yet registered with the Central Election Commission, is on his way to becoming a candidate. He's currently in the campaigning phase, where, as they say, any method is good, and there's no limit to a swindler's imagination. Firstly, Vynnyk has already begun "sowing" his voters with food rations containing buckwheat. It must be said, however, that our people have already realized the full consequences of such petty vote-buying—and now everyone is paying a much higher price for making a rash decision when choosing candidates with low moral character.
Secondly, provocative leaflets have been flying around the city recently regarding a candidate competing in the district, Anna Gorkun, a representative of the Tavria Vintage Cognac House, who is said to be related to Poroshenko. They urge people to be vigilant and know who's behind whom. Although, in my opinion, knowing that someone is distantly related to someone we all honestly voted for is more of a trump card for a future contender. Whoever's planning to cherish Vynnyk should rather be on their guard?!
It's clear that an inquisitive voter will have questions about all candidates, and some are likely to have a connection to the matter. But when the extent of the fraud is known at the city and regional level and will soon become clear to the country's leadership, such a deputy is unlikely to be of any use to the people. Sometimes, you have to make sure someone gets nothing before they become everything.
Irina Ignatyeva, Typical Kherson
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