Tatyana Bakhteeva
Oddly enough, three years after the Euromaidan, some of Akhmetov's closest allies, the "Donetsk people," have not only retained some of their power in Kyiv but continue to use it for profit, squeezing the last vestiges of the country's depleted budget. Tatyana Bakhteyeva, who held Ukrainian healthcare in her hands for over a decade, still wields enough influence to create problems in the pharmaceutical market or help her friends win tenders. This "Doctor of All Ukraine," who at times eclipsed the oligarchs with her luxury, sometimes can't get enough of money...
A simple Soviet therapist
Ukraine's future "golden doctor," Tatyana Dmitrievna Bakhteyeva, was born on November 27, 1953, in Donetsk. True, Donetsk was then called Stalino (until 1961), and Tatyana herself bore her parents' surname—a name she, for some reason, carefully conceals from everyone. This is rather strange, and one can only guess at the skeletons in the long-covered closets of her youth that forced her to simply trim the better half of her biography: childhood, adolescence, and young adulthood. Of those years, Tatyana Bakhteyeva can only be learned fragmentarily from her own words. At school, she easily fit in with boys—this character trait would later become defining in her career. She was also distinguished by her social activism and was always in good standing with the authorities, so in high school Tatyana was the chairperson of the Pioneer squad council, and at the institute she joined the Komsomol committee.
Tanya Bakhteeva: student and Komsomol member
In 1970, she entered the Donetsk Medical Institute. She says she dreamed of becoming a doctor since childhood, when she tried to treat homeless cats and sick pigeons. But even more, Tatyana dreamed of gold. She says she spent her first money (her student stipend) on earrings—ordinary Soviet ones with rubies. Later, the number and cost of Bakhteyeva's "bling" steadily increased, and by the time she was in the Verkhovna Rada, she was sporting pendants whose price reached five figures (and not in hryvnia). But that was later. In the 70s, however, the average Soviet medical worker earned just enough to live modestly without the "excesses" of jewelry and cars. Improving one's standard of living required a certain amount of hard work, and Tatyana realized this even as a student.
In her third or fourth year (the exact date is also hidden), she married Alimzhan Idyatovich Bakhteyev—whose last name she now uses, concealing her maiden name. This wasn't just a marriage, but the beginning of a turning point in Tatyana Bakhteyeva's life, which from that moment onward became closely connected to members of Donetsk's "Tatar diaspora" (even her daughter married a Tatar, Timur Valitov). However, Bakhteyeva's new acquaintances more closely resembled an ethnic organized crime group.
But first came the birth of her daughter, Irina (now Irina Valitova), in 1975, and maternity leave significantly eased Tatyana's internship. And in 1977, she received her first position as a general practitioner at the 2nd Hospital in Yasinovataya (Donetsk Oblast). Judging by this assignment, Bakhteyeva didn't have any close connections in the medical institute's management, and it wasn't until 1980 that she moved to Donetsk, as a district general practitioner at Hospital No. 3. The job wasn't exactly lucrative, yet the district general practitioners still issued sick leave, for which some patients were grateful: after all, in the USSR, calling in sick with a "cold" was an excellent way to get 3-5 days of "extra vacation."
In 1986, Bakhteyeva received her first truly privileged position—deputy chief physician for medical and labor assessments. This assessment determined whether a person should be granted disability status, and what level it would be. Since disability automatically entitles a person to benefits and a pension (and access to a special store for rations), and also exempts Soviet citizens from charges of "parasitism," huge queues of all kinds of "sick people" formed to obtain disability status in groups 2 and 3, of which only a third were truly disabled. The queues were so enormous that the USSR imposed limits on the number of people granted disability status (except for those with disabilities in group 1), creating even longer queues, which were bypassed (as gifts) by close acquaintances or "by recommendation." Among these patients were "blatnye" in the most literal sense of the word—criminal authorities and long-time criminals who needed the disability status as cover. Skelet.Org has learned that it was then that Tatyana Bakhteyeva became close to Alik Grek (Akhat Bragin), providing favors to people in his circle. However, there is other information: that at that time, Bakhteyeva met figures in Donetsk's "shadow life" who would have been the only ones Alik Grek could have asked for hot water for his chifir. However, she didn't derive much commercial benefit from these connections at the time, and her connections in the Health Department were far more important to her.
Bakhteeva at the head of the medical commission
In 1991, independent Ukraine was in the midst of a business frenzy, and Tatyana Bakhteyeva landed a lucrative position as chair of the Donetsk Regional Medical Commission for the Examination of Chernobyl Victims. Considering that "liquidation status" had become a new form of disability (benefits, pensions) in the 90s, immediately attracting thousands of eager applicants (including officials who had reported to Chernobyl for a couple of days), this was a real gold mine. The number of "Chernobyl disabled" grew exponentially, and for years, thanks to the hordes of scammers, actual liquidators of the accident were unable to obtain the status. In 1992, Bakhteyeva's opportunities expanded: she became the director of a program to rehabilitate children of Chernobyl victims in Cuba. As it happened, many children of officials and aspiring businessmen were sent to the sunny island under this program. And in May 1994, Tatyana Bakhteeva was appointed head physician of the Donetsk Regional Health and Wellness Center for Chernobyl Victims.
Donetsk Bayram
Tatyana Bakhteyeva's subsequent career development was greatly influenced by her acquaintance with her colleague Raisa Saitovna Taktasheva. They were said to have known each other as doctors in the 80s, and their relationship deepened when Bakhteyeva took up positions on medical commissions. The intriguing part is that Raisa Saitovna's husband was a well-known figure in Donetsk (since the 80s), Zhigan Khamitovich Taktashev (1959-2006), who later changed his name to Yevgeny Nikolayevich Taktashov—and under that name became vice president of FC Shakhtar.
Zhigan Khamitovich (Evgeniy Nikolevich) Taktashev
He was one of Alik Grek's (Bragin) closest associates, who introduced him to his distant relative, Igor Akhmetov, and later to his younger brother, Rinat. This is how Tatyana Bakhteyeva's second entry into Donetsk's "Tatar diaspora" occurred. Later, for some reason, she claimed to be either a relative of Akhmetov's or even a sister of Alik Grek, but this was a fabrication of unclear purpose—perhaps Bakhteyeva was trying to explain her long-standing close relationship with Akhmetov and his company.
Rinat Akhmetov and Tatyana Bakhteeva
Through the Taktashev family, the Bakhteyevs met Timur Irshadovich Valitov (born 1972), another Donetsk businessman of Tatar descent and Irina Bakhteeva's future husband. They were also brought together by the hospital: Emir Valitov, Timur Valitov's older brother, worked as a nurse at the same medical facility as Raisa Taktasheva.
Timur Valitov's legitimate business began in 1997 with the creation of Vales LLC, which owned a chain of pharmacies in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Raisa Taktasheva became a co-owner of Vales, possibly as a form of protection from her husband. However, within a few years, Timur Valitov became Taktashev's primary business partner in many projects. Moreover, in 2003, he became one of the main shareholders of UTN-Vostok, which owned nearly two hundred Formula gas stations (selling fuel from TNK-Ukraine). After the death of Zhigan Taktashev, he effectively ran this "Donetsk group" business until 2010-11. UTN-Vostok survived the pressure from Levochkin-Firtash's group ( read more about them in the articles Levochkin. The "Grey Cardinal" and His Sister and DMITRY FIRTASH. THE STORY OF A TERNOPIL BILLIONAIRE ) on one side, and Kolomoisky on the other. Nevertheless, Valitov continued to develop his own business—for example, he invested in a herbal medicine business that had been quite promising several years earlier, and opened Lekpharma Adonis LLC, which produces Doctor Plus herbal teas. Valitov also became close to the president's son, Viktor Yanukovych Jr., through his automobile club, Patriot. Thus, Bakhteyeva's son-in-law is by no means a poor man and was a key figure in the Donetsk clan.
In the 90s, Tatyana Bakhteeva's husband also went into business. He, however, failed to achieve significant personal success, instead working for Vladislav Dreger , a Donetsk-based corporate raider and auto transport businessman, co-owner of the Transport Union of Donbass, Avto-Express, Magistral, Donbass Bus Stations LLC, and Donetsk Stations LLC, known for his corporate raids. Dreger's subsidiaries included Dopas OJSC (bus transportation), where Alimzhan Bakhteev found employment. Her husband's modest achievements increasingly satisfied Tatyana Bakhteeva, and they eventually drifted apart and separated.
Meanwhile, Tatyana Bakhteyeva was "growing above herself": in 1997, she became a member of the Donetsk Regional Council and was appointed general director of the Donetsk Regional Medical Association. In 1999, she also became its chief physician, thus taking charge of all regional healthcare. From that moment on, money flowed into her lap. Incidentally, it's worth noting that her friend (Raisa Taktasheva) and future son-in-law (Timur Valitov) opened their own pharmacy business immediately after Bakhteyeva assumed her leadership position. It was common knowledge in Ukraine that the vast majority of pharmacies at that time operated under the direction of city and regional chief physicians.
Madame Tramadol
In 2002, Tatyana Bakhteyeva ran for parliament as a candidate for the For a United Ukraine bloc (popularly nicknamed "For United Ukraine") in Donetsk's electoral district #42. With all the administrative resources working to ensure the ruling party's candidate's victory, Bakhteyeva easily garnered 51% of the vote in the first round. She was forced to give up her lucrative position as chief physician of the Donetsk region, and received a diploma in economics from the Donetsk University of Economics and the Order of Princess Olga, 3rd degree, as a memento. However, from that moment on, she firmly established herself within the walls of the Verkhovna Rada, assuming control of the Healthcare Committee (from 2002 to 2014). Her arrival in parliament also marked the beginning of Bakhteyeva's long-running war with her archrival, Raisa Bogatyreva ( read more about her in the article "Raisa Bogatyreva: How the Favourite of a Gangster Family Made a Living "), another "golden doctor" from Donbass who settled in Kyiv back in the early 1990s.
Bogatyreva and Bakhteeva: bitter allies
When Bagatyreva was "patch-matched" to Viktor Yanukovych in 2003-2004 and began courting the Donetsk people, Bakhteeva was understandably jealous. It wasn't a matter of proximity: tied to family ties in Donetsk and long-standing friendships, Bakhteeva was unbeatable in this regard. However, two doctors on the same team is too much when it comes to two greedy women seeking to "make" as much money as possible in medicine. In their pursuit of this, they even alienated each other in 2005, fawning over the new president with bouquets of roses. As is well known, Bogatyryova fared better: two years later, Yushchenko appointed her Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, a position she held until 2012. However, Tatyana Bakhteyeva found a common language with the First Lady, and in 2006, she was appointed deputy chair of the board of trustees of the Children's Hospital of the Future program, under which Kateryna Chumachenko-Yushchenko created the Ukraine 3000 Foundation. That same year, an all-Ukrainian charity marathon was held, raising 262 million hryvnias for the hospital's construction.
However, the hospital was never built: the funds, managed in part by Tatyana Bakhteeva, were partly squandered on the foundation's "current expenses," while others simply disappeared. A scandal erupted as a result, though it didn't prevent Bakhteeva from receiving the Order of Princess Olga, First Class, from the "Orange Government" in 2008. Interestingly, when in 2011-2012 some regional leaders proposed creating an investigative commission to investigate the "Hospital of the Future" scam, Bakhteeva categorically opposed it.
In 2006, another scandal involving Bakhteyeva erupted, one that had dragged on, intermittently, for several years: the tramadol case. A powerful painkiller, desperately needed by both cancer patients and those suffering from severe trauma, something like a domestic equivalent of Vicadin, it attracted the attention of drug addicts. They began buying it up in pharmacies by the pack, either to swallow pills by the handful or to make "shirka." The Ministry of Internal Affairs' response was traditional: they demanded that the drug be classified as a narcotic and banned from sale (the Ukrainian Ministry of Internal Affairs refused to listen to the fact that non-narcotic opiate analogs do not exist). This was subsequently done: Ukraine and Belarus became the two countries where tramadol and its analogs were declared narcotics and banned from sale.
However, Tatyana Bakhteyeva and Raisa Bogatyreva strongly opposed the Ministry of Internal Affairs' initiative and spent several years defending tramadol, insisting it was harmless—at least for normal people who weren't using it for a high. This was practically the only time they were so unanimous! However, it wasn't for long: Bogatyreva soon declared that only tramadol produced by the Biolik plant (owned by her son, Alexander Bogatyrev) was safe, certified, and legally distributed. Regarding other tramadol manufacturers (including Stirol LLC, of which Bakhteyeva is a shareholder), Bogatyreva hinted that they could produce and sell tramadol illegally, even illegally. According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, in 2008 alone, 75 million tramadol tablets were produced "above plan" and sold through illegal schemes (possibly including through a network of pharmacies controlled by Bakhteeva or her son-in-law Valitov). At black market prices at the time, the revenue could have been over $190 million!
War of the Ministries of Health
With the victory of the Donetsk group in 2010, Tatyana Bakhteeva entered the phase of her greatest power. The Health Committee, which she chaired for many years and exercised complete control over, became known as the "shadow Ministry of Health"—more powerful than the official one. Thus, Bakhteeva began to resolve tender procurement issues, taking over more than 20 companies under her wing, including PJSC Ukrmedtekhnika, Medgarant LLC, Medicalgroup-Ukraine LLC, Goral LLC, Brizanta LLC, Ilatanmed LLC, Medical Trading Company LLC, Radmir, and Alliance Pharm LLC—many of which are associated with the Fistal family, which is close to Bakhteeva. The volume of tenders won by them in 2011 amounted to 1,5 billion hryvnias, and in 2012, 1,8 billion. According to sources, the companies' profits amounted to 35-50% of the tender amount, and in some cases (purchase of ultrasound, X-ray, and ventilator equipment) reached 350-510%!
The kickback amounts were also commensurate. Tatyana Bakhteyeva's wealth was rapidly growing: the watch on her wrist alone cost 95 euros, making it the most expensive "boiler" in the Verkhovna Rada. Her vehicle matched them: a Lexus RX350 (worth around $100).
Bakhteeva's "Classigue Grande Complication" watch costs 95 euros.
Financial resources allowed Tatyana Bakhteyeva to conduct her own election campaign in Donetsk (single-mandate constituency No. 42) in 2012. It was conducted in the best traditions of the Party of Regions: with blue tents at every intersection, souvenir distribution, a stage, and hired student extras.
But, having returned to the Rada once again and taken her usual position, Bakhteyeva in 2012 faced an old rival: Raisa Bogatyreva, appointed head of the Ministry of Health. A war immediately erupted between the two ministries of health, the "shadow" and the official one, which brought Ukraine numerous problems. Bakhteyeva's very first move was an attack on Bogatyreva's son's company, Biolik. The incident stemmed from a 2011 incident involving a vaccine produced by Biolik, the use of which led to the illness of dozens of children. After Bogatyreva took over the Ministry of Health, she began lobbying for mass vaccination of Ukrainians (primarily children) using public funds. Bakhteeva, wanting to ruin her rival's business, first tried to stir up and inflate last year's scandal, and when that didn't work, on December 4, 2012, she showed up drunk at a meeting of her parliamentary committee and gave a speech about how vaccinations (in particular against hepatitis B) were completely unnecessary.
Then the rivals unleashed heavy artillery on each other: Bogatyreva, as head of the Ministry of Health, controlled drug registration, while Bakhteeva controlled the State Drug Service, which she secured for itself a virtually duplicated function of drug licensing. They created obstacles to the sale and use in Ukraine of drugs produced or imported by "enemy" companies, and as a result, Ukraine began to experience serious drug shortages. Pharmacy salespeople were at a loss: popular medications needed by sick Ukrainians had not been certified or licensed (some still are!). It got to the point where the country ran out of high-quality insulin, putting the lives of thousands of diabetics at risk.
Nothing changed
Like the overwhelming majority of Party of Regions members, Tatyana Bakhteyeva, as Skelet.Org sources reported , reacted extremely negatively to the events of February 2014, but did not panic or attempt to flee. Of all Akhmetov's team, she reacted most calmly. And then she spoke quite positively about the loss of Crimea, declaring that it "left on its own." Either she considered the annexation a temporary measure (until the "junta" is overthrown), or she genuinely wasn't opposed to gifting the peninsula to Russia—take it, she said, it's no big deal! This question could be addressed not only to Bakhteyeva but to many other deputies in her faction.
The political uncertainty didn't stop Bakhteyeva from running for parliament in the fall of 2014, for the fifth consecutive time, this time on the Opposition Bloc list. Her native Donetsk was no longer available for the majoritarian elections, although Bakhteyeva continued to visit it until mid-2015, almost on official visits (formally, she brought humanitarian aid to children) and even insisted on a personal meeting with Zakharchenko. However, since Bakhteyeva was listed as an "enemy of the republic," the meeting never took place—and subsequently, her visits to Donetsk ceased. There are reports that Bakhteyeva's "goodwill" toward Russia and the separatists stems from the fact that she still owns some non-residential property in Crimea, and that she has built her own "Mezhyhirya" estate in Donetsk (Kuibyshevsky District, Vareikisa Street) on a 40-acre plot (four 10-acre plots). Of course, she would not want it to be plundered or “nationalized.”
And here's what's interesting: neither Bakhteyeva's opinion on the Maidan, nor her position on Crimea, nor her trips to Donetsk have caused any discord between her and her fellow deputies, who proclaim themselves to be mega-patriots of Ukraine. As journalists have repeatedly noted, Bakhteyeva often engages in cheerful and informal conversations with her political opponents. This is unsurprising: they are not her business rivals, as Bogatyreva is!
Although Bakhteyeva lost her position as head of the Health Committee to BPP member Olga Bogomolets in 2014, she retained some leverage over Ukrainian healthcare. Her connections within the State Drug Service remain extensive, and she is playing a new game in Ukraine's pharmaceutical market—as a result, medications are once again disappearing from pharmacies. Bakhteyeva has been instrumental in the catastrophic situation with vaccines and inoculations in the country over the past three years. Having lost control over tenders in Kyiv, she is organizing them at the regional level. Thus, in 2014, Bakhteyeva was again accused of several "rigged" tenders for equipment purchases, which were won by Fistal's firms. And judging by the fact that in 2016, nine special vehicles were purchased for the ambulance station in Zaporizhzhia at public expense from Avtospetsprom LLC, a company 50% owned by Vladimir Fistal, nothing has changed in this regard: Bakhteeva continues to "earn" from tender deals today, albeit not in the same volumes as before.
Meanwhile, Tatyana Bakhteyeva suddenly became seriously "impoverished"—at least, in her most recent declaration, she listed very modest assets and savings. Instead of her previous Lexus RX350, she now owns a much more modest Toyota Camry, a Tabbah watch worth "only" €14, just four pieces of jewelry, one fur coat (sheer poverty), and 719 hryvnia, $32, and €27 in cash. And yet, the "Classigue Grande Complication" watch she wore a couple of years ago alone cost more than all this junk! And there's absolutely no mention of her own business, which Bakhteyeva hides as carefully as she does her maiden name.
Sergey Varis, for Skelet.Org
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