Volodymyr Groysman: Dark Spots in the Biography of the Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada

Volodymyr Groysman: Dark Spots in the Biography of the Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada

Something fishy has been going on in the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine lately: ministers are resigning, then resigning. In the Verkhovna Rada, MPs are shouting about the need to dismiss the entire government, led by Arseniy Yatsenyuk, but most are doing nothing about it. Volodymyr Groysman is currently the Speaker of Parliament. He was swept into this position by the wave of revolution in Ukraine, and it seems all his past "exploits" have been washed away by this wave. Or perhaps they've simply been overlooked. How did it happen that a man whose entire family has a dubious past managed to rise so high?

Volodymyr Groysman. "A Young Talent and His Ancestors"

Groysman Boris Vladimirovich In January 1978, in Vinnytsia, he was born in Vinnytsia. As a ninth-grader (14 years old), he went to work as a mechanic at the Shkolnik enterprise. By his sixteenth birthday, he was appointed commercial director (!) at the OKO enterprise. A couple of months later, in 1994, he became the head of another private enterprise, Yunost (the same name as the Vinnytsia market). A truly phenomenal child, he received the right to sign orders and contracts immediately after school. Obviously, the reason for such personnel decisions should be sought in Volodymyr Groysman's family. His father, Borys Groysman, a caring parent, did everything possible for his son. It was he who got his son his first job; moreover, he was the head of the Shkolnik enterprise. Furthermore, the enterprise Yunost, where Volodymyr Borisovich worked as commercial director, was also founded by Groysman Sr. Digging deeper, it became clear where the Groysman family got their start-up capital. It turned out that his grandfather was Isaak Groysman, a well-known Bolshevik collaborator in Vinnytsia. Before the war, he worked as a photographer, meaning he had photographs of Vinnytsia's entire "elite" (only they could afford photography back then).

By giving these photographs to the Chekist Tarnagodsky, he received the right not to pay taxes and to move freely around the captured city.

Taking advantage of the situation, he established a successful business serving the interests of the Bolsheviks. He even received several apartments for his efforts. All would be well, but the fact that more than half of Vinnytsia's intelligentsia was executed because of his photographs is now carefully concealed, with historical accounts being removed from the internet.

The Political Path

Groysman's exact employment and whereabouts from 1995 to 2002 are unknown. He claims to have held senior positions in several commercial entities, but is apparently afraid to provide more details. His official biography states that he received a law degree from the Interregional Academy of Personnel Management in 2003, though he only studied there for three years. This is highly unusual, considering that higher education in Ukraine typically takes at least four years to complete.

Volodymyr Groysman began his political career in 2002. A 24-year-old businessman with no political experience, he won the election to the Vinnytsia City Council, becoming the youngest city council member in the city's history. Volodymyr Borysovych made a giant career leap in 2005. Joining the "Our Ukraine" bloc, he was elected secretary of the Vinnytsia City Council. Coincidentally, a few days later, he became acting mayor of Vinnytsia, and in March 2006, he won the mayoral election, becoming the city's rightful "master." Around this time, Groysman transferred the ownership of his businesses and companies to close relatives; in particular, most of his businesses are registered to his father, Borys Groysman. In 2010, Groysman Jr. was re-elected as mayor of Vinnytsia, receiving almost 78% of the vote.

During his tenure as Vinnytsia's mayor, Volodymyr Borysovych was embroiled in a number of high-profile scandals. Among other things, he was accused of nepotism and malicious aiding and abetting corruption. One such incident involved Groysman's transfer of 3400 square meters of city land to his father, Borys Groysman, for the construction of the Magigrand shopping center. He is also accused of purchasing decommissioned Swiss trams from 1952 for use on Vinnytsia routes.

According to a law enforcement source, Volodymyr Borisovich managed to steal in virtually every area he undertook, from issuing licenses to minibus drivers to landscaping streets. Particular attention should be paid to theft from city asphalt paving. At the time, Groysman owned several asphalt plants, and, eager to make money, he contracted out services from his own companies. By siphoning money from the Vinnytsia local budget into his own pockets, he was willing to pave the same areas multiple times, just to make more money.

Vladimir Groysman's business

Volodymyr's father, Borys Groysman, has been close to current President Petro Poroshenko since the 90s. This explains why it was at Petro Poroshenko's instigation that Groysman Jr. was invited to join the Cabinet of Ministers after the revolutionary events in Ukraine. Moreover, he was immediately appointed to the post of Deputy Prime Minister of Regional Development and Housing and Public Utilities of Ukraine (late February 2014). In general, Poroshenko's personnel decisions are increasingly raising questions. After all, it appears he installed a man in the deputy prime minister's chair who, during the active phase of the "revolution of dignity," was not at all opposed to the overthrow of the Yanukovych "family" regime.

Vinnytsia Mayor Volodymyr Groysman was booed for his support of Viktor Yanukovych.

Volodymyr Groysman. Loan for Yunost

In October 2007, Yunost, a company officially owned by Boris Groysman, took out a $10,8 million loan from Kreditprombank. The funds were to be used for the construction of the Magigrand shopping center. Notably, the new shopping center was located on the site of the former Yunost market, founded in 1994 by Groysman Sr. The younger Groysman oversaw the management of this market until his election as mayor of Vinnytsia. The loan was taken out for two years, but when the repayment deadline arrived (October 2009), it turned out that most of the funds allocated for construction had vanished without a trace. There was simply no intention of repaying the loan. The Groysmans quietly left Yunost, leaving the company as founders. Following this, the Vinnytsia Commercial Court declared Yunost (no longer owned by Groysman) bankrupt. And the burden of repaying the loan fell to the state. Rumor has it that the judges received a hefty $50,000 for making the "correct" decision.

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In the past, Volodymyr Groysman, together with his father, Borys, carried out numerous shady dealings. By controlling business processes in Vinnytsia, they earned millions of hryvnias through fraud. It's scary to think how much Groysman Jr. could earn using his current position in the Verkhovna Rada. It's clear he's working in tandem with the president. After all, his father, Borys, had a relationship with him. Petr Alekseevich Their common affairs are a thing of the past. Confirmation that he is on the side of our oligarchic president is also the fact that Petro Poroshenko's son, Oleksiy, was elected as a people's deputy in a constituency in the Vinnytsia region, which in recent years has been effectively controlled by the Groysman "clan" and their cronies. And while rumors circulate in the media that Groysman could become the next prime minister of Ukraine, law enforcement agencies are not even itching to punish Boris Vladimirovich and his family members for their past "sins."

Dmitry Samofalov, for Skelet.Org

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