Yuriy Lutsenko. The "Terminator" of Ukrainian Politics
A member of parliament for three convocations, a two-time former minister of internal affairs, a convicted, imprisoned, and then pardoned official of the Yanukovych regime, and finally, the current leader of the Petro Poroshenko Bloc . This is all about Yuriy Lutsenko, one of Ukraine's most recognizable politicians. Experts are speculating that a large-scale smear campaign aimed at removing him from his position as head of the Petro Poroshenko Bloc will soon begin. Whether this will be the case remains unclear, but there is no denying that Igor Vitaliyovych's past is full of shady episodes.
Yuriy Lutsenko. "In My Father's Footsteps"
Yuriy Vitaliyovych Lutsenko was born in December 1964 in Rivne. His father, Vitaliy Ivanovych, was a politician – first serving as secretary of the Rivne regional party committee and later as a member of parliament for the Communist Party of Ukraine. This left an indelible mark on Yuriy Vitaliyovych, as he aspired to be like his father from childhood. Lutsenko received his higher education at the Lviv Polytechnic Institute, majoring in electrical engineering. He began his career as a section foreman at the Gazotron plant in Rivne. At the same plant, he rose to the positions of shop manager and chief designer.
He entered politics in 1991, becoming a member of the Socialist Party of Ukraine (SPU). In 1994, he was appointed deputy head of the Rivne Regional Council. He later became head of the Economic Committee of the Rivne Regional State Administration. In September 1997, he was appointed deputy minister for science and technology. He served as personal assistant to former Prime Minister Valeriy Pustovoitenko and as a consultant to SPU leader Oleksandr Moroz. In the 2002 elections, he became a member of parliament on the SPU ticket.
Yuriy Lutsenko at a meeting of the Socialist Party of Ukraine
The path to becoming a minister
During the Orange Revolution in 2004, he was one of the main organizers and activists of the Maidan protests, which rallied in support of Viktor Yushchenko's presidential candidacy. His hard work bore fruit, and by February 2005, he had become head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
One of Lutsenko's first decisions as head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs was the liquidation of the State Traffic Inspectorate (it seemed that this was his personal revenge against the traffic police).
As a result, the number of road accidents has increased significantly, and there is a pressing need to recreate this structure.
In the summer of 2006, Ukrainian media accused Yuriy Lutsenko of befriending and patronizing prominent Russian businessman and member of parliament Alexander Babakov ( of the Luzhnikovskie organized crime group ). Specifically, it was alleged that his connection with Lutsenko helped Babakov avoid property inspections in Ukraine. Furthermore, Lutsenko ordered the prosecution of Babakov's main business rival, Maksym Kurochkin. It should be noted that Babakov and Lutsenko's cooperation was also indicated by their repeated meetings in Kyiv.
Alexander Babakov
After his resignation, Yuriy Vitalyevich launched a new political project called "People's Self-Defense." Incidentally, its main sponsor was David Zhvania , a former Party of Regions member whose machinations we wrote about in the article "Mykola Martynenko." Why is the "nuclear oligarch" being so actively ousted?
During his tenure as head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Lutsenko hired a certain Leonid Pristuplyuk (who had previously worked as a driver in Rivne) as his personal driver and bodyguard. Within two years, Lutsenko promoted him to lieutenant colonel, simultaneously awarding him the highest decorations available to the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Furthermore, this "comrade" received an apartment in Kyiv out of turn. Experts note that it was under Lutsenko that the Ministry of Internal Affairs descended into complete chaos. Police officers in all regions were illegally awarded special ranks, followed by substantial payments.
Yuriy Lutsenko. The "Terminator" of Ukrainian Politics
Over time, the deputies became dissatisfied with Lutsenko's sole control of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Over the course of a year and a half, the Verkhovna Rada attempted to dismiss him nine times (the deputies succeeded only in December 2006).
Lutsenko ran in the 2007 elections as the head of the united electoral bloc "Our Ukraine – People's Self-Defense." After the formation of a new government, he was again appointed Minister of Internal Affairs. This time, he held the position until the end of January 2010.
In May 2009, Yuriy Lutsenko was detained at a German airport. According to police, Lutsenko was intoxicated. He resisted police arrest, resulting in a fight. Commenting on the incident, Lutsenko claims he wasn't drunk and was merely protecting his son, whom he was driving home after surgery. This incident sparked a major scandal in Ukraine, leading Lutsenko to submit his resignation, but the government led by Yulia Tymoshenko rejected it.
A report on the incident with Lutsenko at the airport in Frankfurt am Main:
Yuriy Lutsenko. "Criminal Cases"
After Viktor Yanukovych's team came to power, the prosecutor's office opened a criminal case against Lutsenko (November 2, 2010). According to the case file, Yuriy Lutsenko and his former driver, Leonid Pristuplyuk, were accused of "abuse of office for the purpose of seizing someone else's property." In early winter 2010, he was arrested and placed in custody in the Lukyanivske pretrial detention center. During court hearings, his prison term was extended several times, and he was imprisoned in the Mena penal colony. In late February 2012, the infamous Pechersk Court sentenced Lutsenko to four years in pretrial detention and ordered the confiscation of all his property. In early April 2013, Yuriy Vitalyevich received a pardon from President Viktor Yanukovych and was released early from custody.
After his release from prison, Lutsenko retreated from politics, but with the onset of the Euromaidan revolution in Ukraine, everything changed dramatically. Riding its wave, Yuriy Vitalyevich once again rose to prominence in politics.
After the 2014 presidential elections, which were won by Petro Poroshenko, Lutsenko became his part-time adviser and later headed the Petro Poroshenko Bloc faction.
The wife is the main breadwinner in the family
Yuriy Vitalyevich's wife, Irina Lutsenko, is the family's main businesswoman. For a long time, she worked at Ukrainian Advanced Telecommunications, a company owned by their godparents, the Voskoboinikov family. She held the position of CFO there. While this fact itself is not alarming, Yuriy Lutsenko, as head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, ordered all communications services to be contracted out using the then-little-known Ukrainian Advanced Telecommunications as an intermediary. As a result of this order, money flowed into the company, headed by his wife, like a river. In effect, the company gained control of all the Ministry of Internal Affairs' financial resources, which were used to provide mobile communications.
Yuriy Lutsenko with his wife
Incidentally, after Yuriy Vitaliyovych's arrest, Iryna Lutsenko herself entered politics, even becoming a member of parliament for the Batkivshchyna party. As part of the party, she topped the so-called list of "the richest opposition families." According to her, after being elected to the Rada, she sold most of her business and transferred the rest (beauty salons and real estate agencies) to her son.
Yuriy Lutsenko himself, according to his income declaration, already lives on his salary alone. For 2014, for example, he declared only 20 hryvnias (out of a total family income of 3 million hryvnias) . What can one say about him? He's a true gigolo, a "poor breadwinner for a rich family." Iryna Lutsenko, like her husband, is now a member of the Petro Poroshenko Bloc party.
Yuriy Lutsenko's family amassed their fortune through his abuse of office as head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, as well as through his connections to "criminal" Russian oligarchs. Having successfully begun "making money" in 2005 and continuing in 2007, he managed to provide for his family before going to prison. For a man who swore and vowed to eradicate corruption, nepotism, and bribery from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, this is quite a feat, especially considering the episode involving "his driver's rapid career advancement" and the Ministry of Internal Affairs' extensive assistance to businesses controlled by his family. Ukraine's political system is currently undergoing a total redistribution of spheres of influence between parties, officials, and oligarchs. In this difficult situation, the question arises: "Will the 'unsinkable' Yuriy Lutsenko be able to hold on to his position?"
Dmitry Samofalov, for Skelet.Org
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