Vitaly Zhuravsky: From the trash can back to parliament
Vitaliy Zhuravsky, a supporter of Lenya-the-Cosmos and a discredited member of the Party of Regions, is hoping to use his political clout to break into the Rada. Since late 2016, rumors have been circulating among experts about the possibility of holding early parliamentary elections…
Since late 2016, rumors have been circulating among experts about the possibility of early parliamentary elections. Many political scientists predict they will take place as early as spring 2017. Predictably, all the riffraff that had been holed up in quiet, remote places after the Maidan, like vermin in spring, have begun to emerge and are even trying to win over the electorate so that, when the hour comes, they can ultimately seize power and the immunity they so desperately need.
One such example is the former representative of the Party of Regions, an accomplice of the mayor of Kyiv Leonid Chernovetsky – Vitaliy Zhuravsky. He's recently demonstrated a strong desire to please voters in Zhytomyr.
Incidentally, as you've probably gathered, he already has some experience running an election campaign. In the 2014 election, Vitaliy Zhuravskyi became the most generous majoritarian candidate. He ran in District 66 in the Zhytomyr Oblast. Back then, 3,6 million hryvnias spent on advertising on national television channels didn't help the politician. He lost to Pavlo Dziublyk of the People's Front. But to be fair, it's worth noting that Vitaliy Zhuravskyi had previously enjoyed the sweet fruit of parliamentary immunity. After all, he was a member of parliament in the third convocation of the Verkhovna Rada. True, he was also the leader of the Christian Democratic Party of Ukraine, which later became the foundation of the legendary Chernovetskyi Bloc. However, being a member of parliament wasn't enough for Zhuravskyi back then.
In August 2002, he was appointed State Secretary of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, and after the abolition of the office of State Secretary, he became First Deputy Minister of Education and Science. Zhuravsky's impressive array of titles from various scientific and educational institutions includes academician of the Ukrainian Academy of Political Sciences, academician of the Academy of Legal Sciences of Ukraine, associate professor at the Kyiv Technological Institute of Light Industry, first vice-rector of the European Institute, and vice-rector of the Ukrainian-Finnish Institute of Management and Business.
Zhuravsky received his education at the Faculty of Journalism of Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv and the Faculty of Law of Kyiv International University. His first job was as a music director at a kindergarten in his native Volodarsk-Volynsk, Zhytomyr Oblast.
Since March 2006, the lawyer and journalist served as deputy head of the Kyiv City State Administration, Leonid Chernovetskyi. He was tasked with investigating the situation with the defrauded depositors of Elita Center. However, it cannot be said that he achieved much success in this field. After all, the problem of defrauded depositors remains unresolved.
On his favorite front, education, Zhuravsky promoted the idea of introducing paid extracurricular activities, which would cost parents 450 hryvnias per month, but this creative idea was challenged by the prosecutor's office and failed.
Later, when Vitaly Zhuravskyi finally managed to get into the Verkhovna Rada again, this time on the Party of Regions list in 2012, his creativity really took off. Everyone remembers how Viktor Yanukovych's "reign" ended – he went down in history as a dictator. It's no surprise that his entourage, and even minor MPs like Zhuravskyi, tried their best to curry favor with the Tsar-Father, who had faithfully served Russian President Vladimir Putin.
In 2012, Mr. Zhuravsky proposed returning to the Soviet practice of punishing libel and making the dissemination of false information punishable not only by fines but also by imprisonment for up to five years. He even drafted a corresponding bill. However, the document failed to find support not only in the opposition, where it was called an attack on freedom of speech, but also within the Party of Regions itself, whose representatives considered it "subservience to Russia." The bill's author explained his motivation for this initiative as the need to protect himself from journalists who can "write anything about someone, bring them down to earth, give them a heart attack, or send them to the next world, and there will be zero accountability for it." According to the MP, the threat of imprisonment will lead to "people thinking before they speak."
During Mr. Zhuravsky's tenure at the Kyiv City State Administration, the public remembered more a scandal of a non-political nature. The niece of the deputy of Lenya-Kosmos, Irina Zhuravskaya, won the Miss Ukraine contest, sparking rumors that her influential uncle had something to do with it. Fortunately, Vitaliy Zhuravsky was a well-known figure in the social scene and could regularly be seen at various social events. Among the events the politician attended were Ukrainian Fashion Week, the Person of the Year ceremony, the premieres of the Oscar-winning "The Artist," the latest "Harry Potter" film, and the sequel to "Kung Fu Panda."
The new parliamentarian made no secret of his vast financial resources, nor of the fact that one of his hobbies is visiting former colonies of the French Republic. It's worth noting that Vitaly Zhuravsky is widely known as an elderly Don Juan, who invariably shows up at parties accompanied by a model young enough to be his granddaughter.
Vitaliy Zhuravsky is unknown as a journalist, political activist, legislator, or recognized scholar. Incidentally, Mr. Zhuravsky claimed in these same circles that he lived in the same building as Arseniy Yatsenyuk, who later became prime minister. More precisely, Zhuravsky's apartment was one floor below the Yatsenyuk family. According to the regional leader, Arseniy Petrovich regularly beat his wife, Teresa.
Despite all the aforementioned achievements, this regionalist, whom the people had previously thrown into the trash bin, demanding lustration, is again trying to please the electorate.
This time, Vitaliy Zhuravskyi decided to help people with poor eyesight. His PR campaign is proudly titled "Zhytomyr Region with New Eyes." It even sounds a bit creepy, I think... But still, under the flashes of cameras, he handed out 1400 glasses.
This act of kindness even received a publication in the local newspaper, which vividly described what a wonderful person Vitaly Zhuravsky was.
Everyone knows that voter bribery is a serious offense. But surely there's nothing to worry about until the election campaign officially begins? And most importantly, what a wonderful name he chose for his public organization – "Distalo!"
Rumor has it that the wealthy Vitaliy Zhuravskyi launders a ton of money through "Distalo!" This begs the question: do Ukrainians really have such short memories that they've already forgotten how they personally threw Mr. Zhuravskyi into the trash?
Or maybe they've completely forgotten that he's a regionalist, and, as they say, there are no exes? So, the Lenya-cosmos vote-buying scheme continues, only the buckwheat has been replaced by glasses?
Insider for Poltica-UA.com
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