The publication's journalists write about the extraordinary and plenipotentiary adviser to the Minister of the Cabinet of Ministers, Oleg Spizhenko. likileaks.
We continue our story about the power brokers in Ukrainian healthcare. Cabinet Minister Oleksandr Saenko is currently vying for this role. His influence on Cabinet processes—from personnel matters to funding of government programs—is, if not decisive, then at least very significant. In some areas, it's far more significant than that of the deputy prime ministers. This is especially true after Saenko's deputy and confidant, Volodymyr Bondarenko, became Secretary of State in a ruthless behind-the-scenes battle with Tymoshenko's candidate, Fedorchuk. So, today Saenko is a sort of shadow master of the Cabinet and Groysman's alter ego.
Medicine had been a keen interest for Saenko ever since his time working for Levochkin at the Fund for Economic Reform in Ukraine. It might seem that for someone with a law degree, medicine is an obscure subject, unsuitable for research. Not at all. Oksana Korchynska, for example, finished 9th grade and is now working as the first deputy head of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Health. Or, for example, three-time convicted recidivist Dima Shermbey, who returned from a trip, was appointed to the National Council of the Ministry of Health for Combating HIV and Tuberculosis. He also hired his colleague from the PLWH Network, Serhiy Dmitriev, a graduate of a Kharkiv vocational school, to work there. Now they sit at the same table with Deputy Prime Minister Rozenko and Acting Minister Suprun.
What, pray tell, is worse about Saenko? Even better. He graduated from the National Academy of the State Tax Service. He even completed training in the Leadership Development Program at the Canadian School of Public Service and at the US Center for Creative Leadership. And, of course, after that, he became a creative leader. First under Levochkin, then under Groysman.
But every creative leader needs assistants. People who will carry the torch through the dark caverns of the state budget and point out where things are hidden. And Oleg Spizhenko became such a guide for Saenko.
As we recall from the film version of "Heart of a Dog," the most important event in Sharikov's life was yet to come. But the most important event in Oleg Spizhenko's life was his marriage to Natalia, the daughter of academician Spizhenko, the owner of the eponymous oncology clinic and jewelry house. The newlywed, like Sharikov, was prepared to accept the family name, and he did accept the hereditary one—Spizhenko. So, in the Spizhenko family, scandals occur somewhat inversely, and the sacramental phrase "Divorce, and my maiden name" is shouted not by the wife, but by the husband. For Natalia, the union with the young but already promising Oleg was her fourth or fifth marriage, and for Oleg, it was the gateway to great opportunities.
The young lawyer's undeniable talent was his exquisite sensitivity, surpassing the capabilities of the most precise oscilloscope. Oleg could sense the fluctuations of the force fields around him with his heart and skillfully integrate into them. His first major integration was his marriage to Natalia and his entry into the Spizhenko family business. Oleg continued to make the right bets. In 2014, he became Oleg Musiy's lawyer and advisor after his election to the Verkhovna Rada. Today, Musiy's office is located in an apartment owned by the Spizhenko family. That same year, Oleg began to develop a fruitful relationship with Oleksandr Saenko, Groysman's increasingly influential advisor. After the arrival of the Georgian reformist Kvitashvili at the Ministry of Health, Spizhenko became one of the most frequent visitors to the office of the First Deputy Minister, Oleksandra Pavlenko.
Apparently guided by the well-known principle that two lawyers make a force, Pavlenko and Spizhenko hatched a grand plan to gain control of the Cancer Institute. Under Sasha and Oleg's patronage, elections were held there, selecting the right leadership. The Cancer Institute had lucrative assets—a nearly new building and a foundation pit for the radiology building, as well as expensive equipment supplied by Akhmetov's foundation before the Maidan. Spizhenko and Pavlenko were preparing a "public-private partnership" project for the completion and subsequent joint operation of the building. However, these ambitious plans, promising great financial prospects, were never realized. According to one theory, this was due to gross design violations committed during construction by the Institute's former director, Shchepotin. Another, far more likely, theory is that the Institute was taken over by entities affiliated with the Dobrobut company, whose representatives amiably hinted to Sasha and Oleg that they had no business there.
Another, no less important, objective of this nearly successful attempt by the Spizhenko clan to establish control over the Cancer Institute was to monitor solvent and operable patients and redirect them to the Spizhenko Clinic. Indeed, many private oncology clinics would like to operate under this model. Some are already operating, such as the Kirovohrad tomography center run by Deputy Konstantin Yarynych.
Despite the failure of the Cancer Institute in 2015, the Spizhenko clan consolidated its position, and by the end of that year, the young head of the family, Oleg, was convincingly telling parties that "Natasha will soon become a minister." So convincingly, in fact, that someone even became concerned and published articles in the media about Natalia's expertise in the jewelry business being far greater than in healthcare, a claim confirmed by members of the relevant parliamentary committee, who are regular customers of the Spizhenko Jewelry House store. They also reported on the serious accusations leveled by dissatisfied patients at the clinic.
It's hard to say what impact these publications had, but Natalia didn't become minister. Things were going well for the Spizhenko clan, however – large-scale construction of the clinic buildings continued, overseen by Oleg's father, and they even built a restaurant at the oncology clinic – an all-inclusive experience, so to speak. After all, if patients can afford treatment, why shouldn't their relatives and visitors have the money for a restaurant? And then, in the spring of 2016, another of Oleg's bets paid off: Volodymyr Groysman was appointed prime minister, naming as one of the conditions of his appointment a quota for a Cabinet minister position for his advisor, Saenko.
This was Oleg's finest hour. Saenko made him his advisor. However, at first, inspired by the opportunities opening up, Oleg presented himself not as Saenko's advisor, but as Groysman's own. And Natalya Yuryevna proudly told her friends about her husband's meteoric rise to power. As an advisor, Spizhenko actively intervened in any situation that offered the slightest chance of financial gain or increased influence. Although, it should be noted, an advisor's status is limited solely to the authority to issue recommendations. Despite this, Spizhenko attempted to influence many things—for example, the appointment of the head of the State Expertise Center last August. And he did influence many things.
Oleg, a gifted marketer, communicates these successes to the market—his current and potential partners and clients. According to Oleg, he is the one overseeing the 500 million ruble reimbursement program and the introduction of reference prices. He was also the conduit through which financial flows flowed from Khomutynnik-Yavorskyi for the appointment of Natalia Gudz, head of the State Service for Medicines and Drug Control, and from the Indara clan for the appointment of Natalia Sholoiko as Secretary of State of the Ministry of Health.
We don't know if the minister himself is aware of the speeches his advisor gives in high society, but we suspect that like priest, like parishioners. And the system of overseers, creatively implemented by the criminal Yanukovych regime, is thriving even under "democratic" rule. Only now the overseers are called advisors.
In topic: Oleg Musiy. The militant medic
Volodymyr Groysman: Dark Spots in the Biography of the Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada
Levochkin. "The Gray Cardinal" and his sister
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