Sergey Rybalko
Oleh Lyashko's Radical Party recently left the pro-government coalition, citing President Poroshenko's role in corrupt schemes and the presence of too many oligarchs in power. This move was, of course, intended to demonstrate to voters that Lyashko himself has no connection to the oligarchs and, in fact, is solely concerned with the needs of ordinary people day and night. But suddenly, oligarchs have found themselves in Lyashko's inner circle. One of the Radical Party's MPs, the infamous Serhiy Rybalko (as he calls himself, distancing himself from his father, Rybalka), has ruined his leader's entire election strategy.
Not only does Rybalko own a whole fleet of ultra-expensive cars, but he also loves to race them around the most expensive resorts. He's even not averse to crashing a supercar or two on the narrow streets of Europe. Below, we offer you a hilarious account of Sergey Rybalko's vacation in Monaco, as well as other adventures of our humble hero.
So, on July 26, 2015, Rybalko, along with a certain Anastasia Bayborodina, as well as a whole retinue of bodyguards, arrived in Monaco and checked into the Hermitage Hotel in the glorious city of Monte Carlo.
Room prices at this hotel range from €350 to €4000 per night. Considering the car Rybalko arrived in, it's safe to assume he didn't choose rooms for €350.
This Ferrari was specially imported from Ukraine, apparently so that the poor deputy from Lyashko's party wouldn't have to spend money on a taxi. A Toyota Land Cruiser AA 2150 OK security vehicle was also brought to Monaco. Two bodyguards were included with the car.
We'd just settled in and were getting ready for our vacation when a minor incident occurred. On July 28, Rybalko caused a minor accident near the hotel.
Apparently, after the accident, the Ferrari ceased to bring joy to its owner. Although, judging by the accident report, the damage was quite minor. Nevertheless, Rybalko decided to buy a new car. He chose a Rolls Royce Wraith. The average price of such a car is around 300 euros. The car was registered to Rybalko's cousin, Alina Paliy.
In August, two more ladies joined the vacationers: Olga Bayborodina and Marina Marchenko.
Whether the Hermitage Hotel's rooms were too cramped, the pillowcases were stale, or they simply grew tired of Monte Carlo, on August 19th the entire group moved to the Château de la Messardière in Saint-Tropez. Apartments at this hotel cost up to 20000 euros per night.
In addition to the aforementioned ladies, Rybalko's brother and girlfriend, his parents, and friends also came to visit. His party colleague, Yuriy Sukhin, was also there. He arrived in a new Ferrari, the purchase of which Lyashko forced him to resign his Kyiv City Council seat.
Mr. Lyashko's strange bias: he expelled the more modest Sukhin from the party and deprived him of his parliamentary seat, while he warmed the more spendthrift Rybalko to his bosom, so to speak.
And this isn't his first vacation this year. From June 19 to 24, during the period reserved for members of parliament to work with voters, Rybalko spent time in Turkey. Along with a group of voters, or rather, female voters.
Specifically, voters were represented by O. Bayborodina, A. Bayborodina, V. Panasyuk, M. Rosinskaya, and M. Marchenko. This support group, likely from among his constituents, flew with the free radical to Turkey on a charter flight and stayed at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in rooms costing between 6000 and 8000 euros per night.
Add to this the charter flight Mr. Rybalko and his escort took to Bodrum. The MP and his support team likely had their own reasons. According to Zhulyany Airport, the MP was taking a break from his duties on a charter flight, the cost of which exceeds €30000.
By the most conservative estimates, this summer's vacation for the people's representative Rybalko and his "guests" cost 500000.
And this is basically nothing, but the declaration of Mr. "radical deputy" Rybalko does not allow him to own such cars, or to vacation in such "modest" hotels, or even to maintain such an escort.
I wonder how the people's deputies themselves and the leader of the Radical Party, Oleh Lyashko, will evaluate such "declarative modesty"?
However, Mr. Rybalko's summer saga wasn't limited to overseas tours; he also left his mark on Ukraine. He even managed to relax at one of Odessa's most expensive seaside hotels, the Meristella Club. Rooms there range from $5000 to $10000.
Nevertheless, Rybalko prefers living abroad.
Before heading to Turkey, Rybalko visited Ibiza. He was accompanied there by Anastasia and Olga Baiborodina, Irina Demchenko, and Marina Marchenko. They stayed at one of the most expensive hotels, the Ushuaia Ibiza Beach Hotel. In total, Mr. Rybalko vacationed last summer for 1,5 million euros, according to conservative estimates.
Can you imagine how hectic the schedules of Lyashko's party deputies must be if they have to fly abroad every month, sometimes even twice, for vacation? And how do they manage to earn enough money for their modest vacations and supercars?
According to his 2014 income declaration, Sergei Rybalko owns a Mazda 3 and a Volkswagen Tiguan. He is the director and owner of Snack Export and SI Group. These companies own, among other things, the Semki, Flint, and Morskie brands. However, something tells us that you can't make money on crackers and sunflower seeds, or a Ferrari or Rolls-Royce.
About a year ago, journalists from the program "Groshi" conducted their own investigation and discovered that Rybalko was trafficking drugs throughout Ukraine. Through a network of pharmacies, he distributed imported drugs and precursors, which he imported in huge quantities in containers of nuts through the port of Odesa. He was assisted in this difficult endeavor by Yuriy Ivanyushchenko (aka Yura Yenakievsky) and Artem Pshonka, the son of the then-Prosecutor General.
An equally interesting video mentioning Rybalko:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=178&v=SaVPYGo9CkE
After his patrons fled, Rybalko had to negotiate with the new authorities. Today, he is one of Lyashko's sponsors. Has he retained his business? Judging by the format of his vacation, it's entirely possible. The only thing missing for a Hollywood-style story about the "drug lord's" vacation is photos of gold pistols and huge wads of dollars.
But this is no longer a question for Mr. Lyashko!
Olga Obashidze, for SKELET-info
Subscribe to our channels on Telegram, Facebook , Twitter , VK - Only new faces from the SKLEP section!