Ukraine is declaring sweeping democratic reforms. This includes fighting corruption, emphasizing professionalism as the foundation of all government appointments, the rule of law, and judicial fairness. These fundamental principles serve as the criteria for the democratic character of the new government. Ukraine has made a quantum leap toward democracy: current President Poroshenko speaks in English in the US Senate and receives a standing ovation, while the previous President, Yanukovych, stole hats and served time in prison. However, has Ukraine's government system changed so significantly since the Revolution of Dignity? What is actually happening at the local level, how are positions awarded, and what decisions are Ukrainian courts rendering? This article addresses these questions.
Recently, public attention to official appointments has increased significantly, indicating the growing influence of civil society in the country. This, incidentally, is also a sign of democratization. Several Ukrainian state-owned companies, including the railway monopoly Ukrzaliznytsia, have found themselves at the epicenter of high-profile corruption scandals. Following a parliamentary appeal, corruption schemes and appointments within this institution were recently exposed, causing widespread public outcry.
https://blogs.korrespondent.net/blog/events/3670930/
It was expected that media attention would help cover up corruption schemes and purge state-owned enterprises. In reality, however, Ukrzaliznytsia is facing a new scandal: some senior officials are attempting to lobby for Vladimir Kolpakov to be appointed director of the Ukrainian Transport and Logistics Center (the state-owned enterprise that manages all of Ukrzaliznytsia's freight railcar fleet).
Vladimir Kolpakov currently serves as the head of the Ilyichevsk railway station. Despite the high-profile murder case committed by Mr. Kolpakov in 2001, there is not a single link online describing those events, which is unusual. Clearly, the free internet has been purged of any "negative" material. On the Ukrainian market, such a "service" costs an average of $10,000 to $50,000.
So what's this murder case all about? In September 2001, a trio of high-ranking railway officials—V. Kolpakov, V. Aleinik, and A. Kara—were celebrating Aleinik's (then deputy head of the Odessa Railway) birthday. In the midst of the workday, after celebrating in his office and then at a restaurant, the officials found themselves in a sauna at an Odessa entertainment venue. According to eyewitnesses, all three were already quite drunk by the time they arrived at the venue. Nevertheless, the drinking continued in the sauna, and after a while, call girls joined them. That evening, Sergei Petrenko, deputy director of the Vidanta firm, showed up at the same establishment with a notebook and some papers. He worked closely with Aleinik on the shipment of light petroleum products from the Odessa Oil Refinery to the Odessa Railway. According to people close to Sergei, he came to negotiate with Kolpakov and Oleynik about the kickback amount officials demand from all companies using rail services. Apparently, the UZ employees named an excessively high amount and refused to compromise, as an argument broke out between the drunken Kolpakov and Petrenko, which escalated into a fight. When the guests left the sauna, staff discovered Sergei Petrenko's mutilated body lying on the floor in a pool of blood.
According to forensic examination report No. 242-21262001, 24 (!) bodily injuries were found on Petrenko's body (specifically, a fractured orbital lid, a fractured greater horn of the hyoid bone, multiple bruises and abrasions on the head and neck, a longitudinal linear wound in the left parietal region, a bruise near the left nipple, etc.). Kolpakov confessed to the murder but claimed he only struck the deceased twice, causing him to fall and hit his head on the concrete floor. When the forensic expert objected that a fall on a concrete surface could not have caused such injuries, the accused replied that Petrenko had fallen several times and hit the floor himself.
Later, during Kolpakov's trial, forensic pathologist E.A. Bogatskaya, who conducted the examination and autopsy of the body, stated: "The injuries sustained by Petrenko S.V. are not characteristic of a fall and a blow to the head on a flat, dominant surface (including a concrete floor)... Petrenko S.V.'s death is causally related to multiple, repeated impacts with blunt objects to various areas of his head." In other words, Sergei Petrenko was struck on the head with heavy objects, which is what caused his death. The same conclusions were contained in the reports of two additional forensic commission examinations, which also indicated that "the presence of abrasions of varying depth and size on Petrenko S.V.'s head can be explained by the presence of jewelry (a ring) on the finger of the person inflicting the blows." Kolpakov himself later admitted that he sold this ring the day after the murder to conceal evidence...
In fact, there was not a single fact presented in Kolpakov's defense: the testimony of witnesses—the entertainment establishment employees who discovered the murdered man's body, the forensic examination data and the medical examiner's testimony, and the physical evidence—all pointed to the presence of intent to kill. For his part, Kolpakov insisted that Petrenko had struck him in the head first and that he was merely defending himself, even though the evidence examined during the trial showed that "V.A. Kolpakov's body bore virtually no injuries that would indicate self-defense. S.V. Petrenko, on the other hand, had injuries to his upper extremities that the medical examiner classified as signs of self-defense (volume 1, page 99-105, forensic medical examination report No. 242-21262001)."
How did this story end? The court delivered a stunning verdict: Kolpakov had committed manslaughter! The fatal wounds, according to the judges, were the result of two blows and pushes from Kolpakov. Essentially, the court ruled that Petrenko's death was caused by repeated falls onto the concrete floor, meaning he rose and fell until he died. Kolpakov was sentenced to only four years in prison with three years of probation. Remarkably, this incident had no negative consequences for his subsequent career advancement. Soon, Vitaly Aleinik was even promoted – he became the head of the Odessa Railway, and then transferred to one of the key positions at UZ in Kyiv. Kolpakov, however, without facing due punishment for premeditated murder, remained working in Ilyichevsk as if nothing had happened.
Today, the humble official Vladimir Kolpakov drives an Audi Q7 and spends his vacations on warm-water islands. According to sources, Kolpakov is planning a career leap in the near future, leaving his position as head of the Ilyichevsk railway station for the currently vacant and highly lucrative position of director of the Ukrainian Transport and Logistics Center. And to achieve this goal, the head of the Ilyichevsk station is counting on the support of his associate, I. P. Fedorko.
It's also worth mentioning the fate of the family of the murdered Sergei Petrenko, who left behind a mother, wife, and daughter. Having found Kolpakov guilty of murder, the court ordered him to pay the deceased's widow 50 hryvnias in compensation for moral damages. However, Kolpakov failed to pay even this paltry sum for a man's life, resorting to cynical deception. Realizing that punishment for murder was inevitable, even before the court's decision, he began paying 500 (!) hryvnias monthly for the child support of the deceased. This was subsequently used as a mitigating circumstance, influencing the court's verdict. However, after the verdict, Ekaterina Petrenko did not receive a single kopeck in moral damages from Kolpakov. Furthermore, the convicted man forged a copy of the Primorsky Court's certificate of August 000, 12.08.2004, for his application to resolve issues related to the execution of the sentence, thereby attempting to quickly absolve himself of all obligations. Sergei Petrenko's widow filed lawsuits in the appellate and supreme courts of Ukraine, but found no justice there either.
Let's summarize. While the country is formally pursuing democratic reforms, corrupt officials and genuine criminals are eyeing leadership positions at the largest state-owned companies. They hide the bloody stains on their records well, handsomely compensating for the silence of key people and the necessary justice services. Meanwhile, the current "democratic" government remains silent and allows this to happen. Fortunately, if anything has changed in Ukraine, it's society. People are no longer silent about official injustice and corruption; they are uniting and speaking out against lawlessness. If order isn't restored at Ukrzaliznytsia and other state-owned companies in the near future, and a murderer—Volodymyr Kolpakov—is appointed director of the Ukrainian Transport and Logistics Center, the public is unlikely to remain silent, as they did 15 years ago after the unpunished murder of Serhiy Petrenko.
Author: Roman Lipinsky
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