Sergey Kaplin
Several days ago, MP Serhiy Kaplin , who held the position of deputy head of the Rada Committee on Social Policy, left the Petro Poroshenko Bloc faction. According to the MP himself, his departure was due to the failure of the vote to dismiss the Cabinet of Ministers. He believes that Ukraine currently lacks an opposition capable of confronting pro-presidential forces, and he, in turn, intends to create one and assume the "burden" of opposition leadership. Ukraine certainly needs a new opposition leader, but Kaplin and his "Party of Ordinary People," which has been called another project of the Yanukovych-era "gray cardinal" Serhiy Lyovochkin, are clearly not the person Ukraine needs (for more information about Serhiy Lyovochkin, see the article "Lyovochkin : The "Gray Cardinal" and His Sister ."). Read below about what else lies hidden in Serhiy Kaplin's past.
"Political prodigy"?
Sergey Kaplin was born in the village of Opryshky in the Poltava region. He received his higher education at the Ukrainian State University of Food Technologies. According to the official biography, concocted for Sergey Nikolayevich by political strategists, his father was one of the liquidators at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant and died of cancer. According to another version, reported by Forbes magazine, his father, Nikolai, served as a personal advisor to Ukrainian Prime Minister Valeriy Pustovoitenko in the mid-90s. This factor is considered key in the development of Sergey Kaplin's political career.
At the age of 19 (!), he was appointed advisor to the State Committee of Ukraine on Entrepreneurship Development and Regulatory Policy. During this time, he also served as assistant to the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada on industrial policy. In 1998, he initiated the creation of the All-Ukrainian public organization "Ukrainian League of Young Entrepreneurs," which advocated for aspiring entrepreneurs. Beginning in 2001, he served as executive director of the Kremenchuk Leather and Saddle Factory. Alongside his work, he was involved in politics and served on the political council of the Party of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs of Ukraine. In 2006, Kaplin founded the public organization "Union of Investors." It should be noted that Serhiy Aleksandrovich, who has been involved in public affairs since his youth, like most activists, is accustomed to embezzling funds from various organizations.
Sergey Kaplin
A capable "activist," Kaplin was quickly spotted in the Verkhovna Rada and co-opted by influential Ukrainian politicians and their satellites. For example, from 2007 to 2010, Serhiy Oleksandrovich simultaneously worked as an assistant to Anatoliy Kinakh, a member of parliament from the Party of Regions, and as an assistant to Natalia Korolevska, then the "regional boss" of the BYuT. Her defection to Serhiy Lyovochkin's Opposition Bloc came as no surprise, especially considering all their joint machinations, which we wrote about in the article: Natalia Korolevska. The Second "Lady U" or the First "Lady N"? It's worth noting that Kaplin and Korolevska, in addition to their shared political activities in the past, are connected by another factor: each of them, in their own way, is under the patronage of Serhiy Lyovochkin. It's no wonder that the "Party of Ordinary People," which Kaplin officially registered in January 2015, is openly referred to as yet another "Lyovochkin project." If we analyze the statements of Sergei Aleksandrovich, we can trace one pattern: each of his public statements is aimed at discrediting the current government, President Poroshenko and his former "comrade" Prime Minister Yatsenyuk (in 2010-2011, Kaplin held the post of deputy of the Kremenchuk branch of the "Front for Change").
During his career, Serhiy Kaplin has worked in a wide variety of organizations and government agencies, from the Institute of Water and Energy Saving (as director) to the State Customs Service (member of the public board) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (member of the public board). In 2012, Kaplin, as a member of the UDAR party, first became a people's deputy in the 144th electoral district (Poltava Oblast). In 2014, he again became an MP, this time as a member of the Petro Poroshenko Bloc party.
Sergei Kaplin in the Verkhovna Rada
A contender for the position of "chief radical"
Sergei Kaplin's actions are reminiscent of the early Oleg Lyashko. Despite the internet being thoroughly scrubbed of his past exploits, some remains. For example, his hunger strike at the Neftekhimekologiya plant. On the premises of this plant, he handcuffed himself to a radiator and "starved" for nine days. His actions were aimed at protecting the interests of the Institute of Water Purification Technologies, a company he is believed to own. According to Kaplin, employees of the Luhansk prosecutor's office, together with the security firm Security Business Company, terrorized the staff of the Institute of Water Purification Technologies, thereby preventing them from repaying the state for the unlawful use of the state-owned enterprise's trademark.
Incidentally, Kaplin made his fortune in water purification. More precisely, in selling the reagents needed for it. As the ZITs chairman of the Energy Resources corporation, he receives quite substantial dividends from the company's financial activities. Incidentally, in Severodonetsk, where Sergey Aleksandrovich handcuffed himself to a radiator, there is another company, the Institute of Water and Energy Saving. He was acquired as a shareholder in this enterprise by Dnipropetrovsk businessman Anatoly Karaul. He is little known to the public, but a significant figure in the narrow circles of the heating and purification businesses. At one time, to lobby for his own interests, he founded the International Water Institute and the Energy Alliance, both of which Sergey Kaplin formerly held leadership positions. This business was shut down with the rise of Oleksandr Vilkul, who effectively shut down the "financially crappy" flows from the state budget (read more about Oleksandr Vilkul in the article " Oleksandr Vilkul: The Forgotten Past of a Dnipropetrovsk Mayoral Candidate "). Kaplin's sponsors then sent him to the Verkhovna Rada to stir things up, and he raised hell by criticizing the actions of the Azarov government, for which he was escorted out of the parliamentary session hall by security. It was then that he conceived the idea of becoming an "opposition radical," a plan he had to put on hold for a long time due to the outbreak of revolutionary events in Ukraine.
How Kaplin went to Mamai
In November 2014, Sergei Kaplin broke into the Poltava City Council building with an axe during a visit by investors in a social housing project in Poltava. He used the axe to break down the doors to the office of the head of capital construction, the office of Poltava Mayor Oleksandr Mamai, and also to the office of his first deputy.
The building's security and law enforcement officers did nothing to stop him, so he went completely wild – he showered Mamai's office with salt and called it "regional," pointing to the portrait of the then-fugitive President Yanukovych that hung on the wall.
Video footage of the incident:
https://youtu.be/Wz9gIArmUyQ
Experts attribute these actions to Kaplin's desire to discredit Mamai in the public eye. Rumor has it that he was being groomed for the post of mayor of Poltava, but it didn't work out. It's worth noting that the media only portrayed Kaplin's actions positively on the Inter TV channel, hosted by the aforementioned Sergey Levochkin, and on Channel 112-Ukraine, where Kaplin visits as if it were his home. It's also unsurprising that Sergey Alexandrovich defended Inter TV (more about Inter TV in the article " The Kremlin Gang on Inter: Stolyarova, Bezlyudnaya, Nikitin ") when parliament was preparing to pass a law banning foreign companies from owning stakes in Ukrainian television and radio companies (including Inter).
"Tell me who your friend is..."
Serhiy Kaplin's "Party of Common People" has assembled a rather interesting contingent. Some of its members are highly influential figures, while others are "dark horses" about whom it's virtually impossible to find information online. For example, Petro Farylo, who was the first head of the "Party of Common People," ran against Kaplin in Poltava's 144th constituency during the 2014 parliamentary elections. Kaplin won the constituency, while Farylo received a mere 112 votes—the worst result in the constituency. He was essentially a technical candidate, designed to simulate the possibility of voters "choosing."
Another member of this political force is Andrey Podshchipkov, owner of the TV channel "112-Ukraine." Incidentally, the media has linked this channel to former Interior Minister Vitaly Zakharchenko. Given that Podshchipkov is an associate of Kaplin, it's not surprising that he frequently appears on the channel, broadcasting anti-government statements (read more about TV channel 112 in the article " Viktor Zubritsky: Who's Behind TV Channel 112 ").
A strange fact is that the "Party of Ordinary People" contains virtually no influential businessmen, meaning the party's funding sources are also highly questionable (let's not forget about Serhiy Lyovochkin's contribution, of course). The only "influential" businessman in the party is Ivan Nadein, who is directly linked to the construction company ZENAKO, the Ukrainian Association of Alternative Solid Fuel Producers, and the "Committee for Energy Independence of Ukraine." In 2012, he ran for the Verkhovna Rada with Kaplin as a member of the UDAR party, but failed to win in his district.
Serhiy Kaplin is one of the most active media personalities in Ukrainian politics. He frequently appears on television, making radical proposals, criticizing both the president and the prime minister, and doing everything he can to lower the current government's approval ratings. Unfortunately, his "ideas" have failed to gain support from the opposition due to their futility and inconsistency. His recent statements about being "ready to become the new face of the opposition" seem quite foolish. He may be ready to become the new "face" of the opposition, but it's unlikely anyone else is looking forward to it.
Dmitry Samofalov, for SKELET-info
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