Pavel Burlakov: How a former regionalist ended up on the United Russia party list. Part 1
Former Crimean Deputy Prime Minister and Party of Regions member Pavel Burlakov has resurfaced in big-time politics, albeit in Russian politics. Today, Donetsk's "Frosa" is wildly welcomed by United Russia, and they place great hopes on Pavel Nikolaevich, just as Yanukovych's team did when they entrusted the Party of Regions' election campaign in Crimea. Ultimately, the elections were remembered by Crimeans for the embezzlement of budget and party funds, lawsuits with journalists, and failed PR campaigns by the incompetent political strategist Igor ShpiliyToday, one can only guess how much "benefit" Pavel Burlakov will bring to United Russia and how much money he will drain from the party's budget.
A new United Russia member from the Party of Regions has risen
The news that former Crimean Deputy Prime Minister Pavel Burlakov has become deputy chairman of the executive committee of the Sevastopol branch of the United Russia party blew up the InternetAfter all, it's extremely difficult to understand how a person with such a dark past can find himself back on top.
Surprisingly, but true: United Russia considers Burlakov an exceptional specialist and is sincerely pleased with his arrival in the party.
"The United Russia party in Sevastopol has been rebooted, and work is underway to build a strong organization—to rid the city of infighting and begin normal, productive work for the city's sake. The United Russia Central Election Commission has sent a team to Sevastopol to assist with organizing party building. We will work together," said acting branch head Elena Semichastnaya.
At the same time, Dmitry Sablin, acting secretary of the United Russia party in Sevastopol (a native of the Donetsk region!), speaking about the team with which he came to conquer Sevastopol, called them reliable and loyal.
"My comrades and friends came with me. They're all different. I need someone to lean on... the deputy head of the executive committee is Pavel Burlakov, who, indeed, served as Crimea's deputy prime minister for five years. But he was one of the initiators of the 'Stop Maidan' project. I've known him for many years. He was the one who oversaw the evacuation of wounded people from the Cherkasy region. Many have forgotten this," Sablin noted, emphasizing that the Party of Regions has done much to return Crimea and Sevastopol to Russia.
"United Russia only had an agreement with one party (Ukraine's) – the Party of Regions. We cooperated and collaborated. In any case, more than half of the Sevastopol United Russia party today are former members of the Party of Regions. And speaking of acting executive committee head Elena Semichastnaya and her deputy Pavel Burlakov, they are top-notch professionals who, among other things, have done a great deal to ensure that Crimea and Sevastopol are now part of Russia," Sablin said.
Burlakov himself has not yet commented on his appointment. The Sevastopol branch of the United Russia party's website also contains no information about Burlakov's appointment, nor has his photo appeared alongside the other appointees.
Hello, I am your "Frosya"
It's important to note that Pavel Nikolaevich Burlakov is from the Donetsk clan, and naturally became notorious for his connections to criminal activity and embezzlement of public funds. However, these shortcomings did not prevent Pavel Nikolaevich from resuming his political career. Skelet.Org I tried to figure out who was covering the rear of the former regional party member and why.
Let's start with official information, which can be easily found online. For example, the former First Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea was born on June 19, 1963, in Donetsk.
In 1985, he graduated from the Donetsk Polytechnic Institute with a degree in automobiles and automotive industry, earning the qualification of electromechanical engineer. In 2003, he completed a master's degree in public administration at the Ukrainian Academy of Public Administration, Dnipropetrovsk Regional Institute under the President of Ukraine. Burlakov's biography notes that he rose from a simple worker to director.
Pavlo Burlakov's political career began in 1995, when he became the representative of the Liberal Party of Ukraine in Makiivka. In 2000, Burlakov became the deputy mayor of Makiivka for executive bodies of the Makiivka City Council Executive Committee. From 2002 to 2005, he served as a consultant to the First Deputy Chairman of the Donetsk Regional State Administration and Chairman of the Standing Committee on Ecology of the Donetsk Regional Council. Since 2005, he has served as the head of the Ideological Work Department of the Party of Regions in Kyiv.
Pavel Burlakov: How a former regionalist ended up on the United Russia party list. Part 1
In 2006, Pavlo Burlakov was elected to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on the Party of Regions list. In 2010, he became First Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, while also serving as Minister of Regional Development and Housing and Public Utilities of Crimea.
After the death of Vasily Dzharty, Burlakov served as acting Chairman of the Council of Ministers of Crimea from August 17 to November 8, 2011.
At this time, Pavel Nikolayevich, as the deceased's right-hand man, was tipped to become Chairman of the Council of Ministers on a permanent basis. However, real passions flared around the vacant position, and real heavyweights entered the fray—Mogilev, Ivanyushchenko, Gritsenko...As a result, Burlakov was pushed into the background, and Dzharty's position went to Anatoly Mogilev. Meanwhile, Pavlo Mykolayovych remained the right-hand man of the new Chairman of the Council of Ministers, who, like Dzharty and Burlakov himself, belonged to the Yanukovych-Akhmetov Donetsk team.
Pavlo Burlakov was always close to Yanukovych and was even considered his enforcer in Crimea. In 2013, the Ukrainian president even recognized Pavlo Burlakov's loyalty to the Party of Regions with the Order of Merit, Second Class.
In February 2014, Pavel Burlakov resigned as First Deputy Prime Minister of the Crimean government and left the peninsula. Burlakov reappeared in Crimea in the fall of that year and was spotted in the Crimean Council of Ministers building. He was subsequently appointed as a part-time adviser to the current head of the republic, Sergei Aksyonov. From then on, Burlakov remained in Crimea, focusing primarily on his business. After receiving Russian citizenship, he immediately decided to return to politics.
Passions and faces, Burlak style
To resurface in the political arena looking clean and tidy, Burlakov, after his political "rehabilitation," began actively cleaning up the internet and deleting any compromising information. Pavel Burlakov has plenty of experience in this area, having become famous throughout Crimea for his campaign against journalists and freedom of speech.
It's worth recalling how, in 2010, Burlakov became embroiled in a scandal involving his registration at a local dormitory. Local media reported that the official was registered in a small room in the dormitory where he had never been, thus hinting that Pavel Nikolaevich owned unregistered housing.
Immediately after this information appeared, the former First Deputy Prime Minister filed a complaint with law enforcement agencies regarding journalists' alleged disclosure of confidential information, and then with the court demanding an apology.
Burlakov's behavior drew condemnation not only from ordinary Ukrainians but also from politicians. For example, then-Ukrainian MP Gennady Moskal stated that the actions of the Crimean First Deputy Prime Minister demonstrated his inadequacy.
"This person is inadequate. Because a reasonable person wouldn't do such a thing. So what if it was declassified? Why hide it at all if you're a public figure? This position isn't for the faint of heart. Someone with such a mental disorder shouldn't be in a leadership position," Moskal said. He advised Burlakov to familiarize himself with the European Court of Human Rights' ruling. which clearly states that in the life of a public politician there are no closed topics.
Ultimately, the court partially upheld the claim of Pavel Burlakov against the website "Arguments of the Week - Crimea" and its employee, Anna Andrievskaya. At the same time, the journalists further disgraced the official by announcing a collection drive for five-kopeck coins to pay him compensation for moral damages.
That same year, Burlakov filed a lawsuit against the Chernomorskaya TV and Radio Company. The reason for this was a statement made live on air by Crimean parliament member Vyacheslav Zakharov. Specifically, Zakharov's statements included statements such as "Burlakov 'has never worked anywhere except for the Komsomol and the Party of Regions,'" and "the first deputy chairman of the Council of Ministers of Crimea receives a salary of over 25 hryvnias a month and doesn't work, but runs an election headquarters on Shpolyanskaya Street. Frosya! Quit it! If you don't want to work, run away to your Makeyevka..." The lawsuit stated that this information defamed the plaintiff's honor and dignity, affected his business reputation, and was therefore subject to retraction. Furthermore, according to the plaintiff's representative, it caused moral damage to the first deputy prime minister, which he estimates at 15 hryvnias. The Kyiv District Court of the Crimean capital partially granted these claims, ordering Zakharov to pay Burlakov 15 hryvnias and the court fee. The remaining claims were denied.
However, these are not the only instances in which officials have used the judicial and law enforcement systems to exert pressure on journalists and their political opponents. This was done solely to cover up Burlakov's machinations.
Valeria Romanova, for Skelet.Org
CONTINUED: Pavel Burlakov: How a former regionalist ended up on the United Russia party list. Part 2
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