Why did Korban and Filatov spend millions on the occupiers' collaborators?
After Russia's transition from a local war to full-scale military action, many of our country's leaders suddenly "saw the light" and began to denounce the occupiers' collaborators, and at the state level, they even banned the Opposition Platform - For Life party, which even at its founding some "surviving Banderites" openly called a fifth column, writes Antikor.
Better late than never, of course. But having said "a," we must also say "b." Especially in Ukraine, where three-quarters of the population has no historical memory even for a few years and doesn't understand that everything that happens in our country after February 24th is causally connected to everything that happened before that date.
A prime example is the Dnipropetrovsk region. Here's an excerpt from an April 26, 2022, article in Ukrainska Pravda: "The people who eight years ago were called oligarch Ihor Kolomoisky's team, and who in 2014 waged the first battle against Russia in the east of the country, have now transformed into an independent team. Both then and now, Gennady Korban was responsible for the region's defense force. In 2014, Korban was deputy head of Ihor Kolomoisky's Dnipropetrovsk Regional State Administration, and today he heads the region's territorial defense."
This is all true. We recommend reading it, by the way—it's extensive and informative.
But let's return to cause-and-effect relationships and short-term historical memory. Let's go back just two years, to the summer of 2020, when the local government election campaign was gaining momentum. And in which Gennady Korban His fellow countryman and longtime ally, Boris Filatov (also mentioned in the above-mentioned article), played an active role. As a reminder, Filatov was running for the post of Dnipro mayor (and ultimately won it), while Gennady Korban focused on the Dnipropetrovsk region. However, many were skeptical at the time of the intelligent people's prediction that Korban would control the regional council following the elections—his previously unknown party, Propozitsia, had slim chances of winning a majority of the 120 seats, or even of getting into the regional council at all.
But they were wrong. In other words, the skeptics were wrong to underestimate the talents of Gennady Olegovich and Boris Albertovich. Because these partners and allies, seasoned in political (and other) battles, understood a simple truth: you can't put all your eggs in one basket. Whether this blindness was due to hatred of Korban and Filatov or the political immaturity of their opponents, most of them ignored the information voiced in July 2020 by one of the Telegram channels:
Why did Korban and Filatov spend millions on the occupiers' collaborators?
The gist of this information was that Korban had bought 50% of the electoral quota from the Opposition Platform — For Life party and 100% from the EU. No one ever published any confirmation of the EU claim—most likely not because it was untrue, but because the people there were smarter than those in the Opposition Platform — For Life party. Or perhaps they weren't so greedy—the internal documentation of the Opposition Platform — For Life party's Depropetrovsk regional headquarters was sold to competitors a few months later, in the midst of the election campaign.
It emerged from the depths of the Opposition Platform – For Life headquarters in the most banal way possible: one of its leaders simply swindled one of its subordinates. This is something you should never do, and especially if you're handling illegal cash. That's why all the illegal accounting ended up in the hands of competitors, who immediately took advantage of it. Incidentally, the website dubinsky.pro, which promptly posted all this documentation, has now been thoroughly cleaned up. Try following this link, for example. You might as well not try, because there's nothing there except the URL.
But, as one Kyiv native and Ukrainophobe used to say, "manuscripts don't burn." Here's an example of what disgruntled Opposition Platform - For Life staff leaked to their competitors in 2020:
Why did Korban and Filatov spend millions on the occupiers' collaborators?
These are excerpts from the internal accounting department of the regional and city (Dnipro) headquarters of the Opposition Platform - For Life in the Dnipropetrovsk region.
This leak confirmed what everyone already knew: money flows like water during elections—the parties' actual spending is significantly higher than what's reported in their financial reports. The bulk of this money comes from "black" cash, which is reported only to sponsors.
During the 2020 election campaign, the Opposition Platform — For Life (OPZZh) sponsors in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast included Gennady Korban, Borys Filatov, and Gennady Gufman, a business partner of the first two and the head of the regional branch of the OPZZh.
In total, more than $1.2 million was spent on the Opposition Platform - For Life election campaign in June-August 2020:
— June — $300,8 thousand;
— July — $349,6 thousand;
— August — 15,9 million UAH (or about $570 thousand at the exchange rate at that time).
The main expense is voter bribery through the Center for Social Responsibility, which received $106,000 in June alone. This bribery is covered by social assistance for lonely elderly and disabled citizens. In exchange for this assistance, they agree to vote for the desired candidate. This is what is colloquially known as "giving away buckwheat."
Another significant expense is the call center, which calls all voters whose personal information has been obtained. This information is usually either purchased (from banks, utility companies, or mobile operators) or collected by hook or by crook—from the same old people who receive buckwheat handouts, at pickets, in election tents, during protests, and so on. The second method is more reliable, although more expensive—all these "activists" who appear out of nowhere before the elections and disappear immediately afterward also consume considerable money from the slush fund. The call center alone cost the regional headquarters of the Opposition Platform — For Life party $15 in June.
$72,500 was spent on media and social networks, $51,500 on headquarters staff salaries, and $22,800 on campaigning and campaign materials...
In July, according to leaked documents, unknown "benefactors" contributed an additional $80,000 to the Opposition Platform — For Life (OPZZh) coffers. We won't go into detail about all the expenses, but we'll note that media expenses were extremely high that month—$105,000. A separate line item included the cost of broadcasts by the Informator Dnepr news agency—$54,000.
The regional headquarters allocated $106,000 for all other “election campaigning” in July.
The city headquarters spent $40,000 on its own events, separate from the regional ones, in June.
For some reason, the August report is already presented in hryvnia. The most expensive department was the media department, costing the party coffers 3.27 million hryvnia. The so-called "project ODD" (agitation, often disguised as a social survey, in which campaigners visit all the apartments and homes of voters—this, incidentally, is where the phone numbers and personal data for call centers come from) cost 1.2 million hryvnia in August.
They also began forming electoral commissions, spending 250,000 hryvnias on their staff salaries in August. This is the so-called "advance payment"—election commissions incur the most expenses during election month, when the standard salary for ordinary commission members at least doubles, while secretaries and heads of electoral commissions earn significantly more.
All of the above is just a small part of what the competitors of Korban, Filatov, and Guffman leaked into the public domain. We present these figures only to illustrate the magnitude of the sums that passed through the headquarters controlled by these trio.
One might ask: how do we know exactly how much money Korban spent on this Opposition Platform – For Life campaign? After all, the names Filatov and Gofman are mentioned alongside him, and they undoubtedly also contributed to this "black" accounting.
The answer is simple: let's return to the information voiced on Telegram by Korban's competitors in the 2020 elections. It states that in the Opposition Platform — For Life party, Gennady Olegovich bought 50% of the eligible list. Incidentally, this information can be trusted (as can the figures in the leaked accounting documents) — the circle of people involved in elections is quite small, and they usually know almost everything about their competitors. Such is the nature of Ukraine. So, judging by this information, Korban covered exactly half of the costs of the Opposition Platform — For Life election campaign in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast.
So what did these millions spent bring to Gennady Olegovich's election results, other than the Dnipro mayor's seat, which was taken by his longtime junior ally, Filatov? Here's what:
The Proposition received 17 seats, half of the Opposition Platform – For Life party received 14 seats, and, if the information about the EU was true, another 13 "bayonets." That in itself is no small force. And if you take into account various "deals" and outright bribery, then, together with the head of the local Opposition Platform – For Life party, Gennady Gufman, Korban practically gained power over the region – they already controlled exactly half of the regional council deputies. Incidentally, Gufman became (and still is) the first deputy head of the Dnipropetrovsk Regional Council.
True, on February 24, 2022, all these plans were thrown into disarray by the true masters of the Opposition Platform for Life, who were unaware of Korban's plans. Or perhaps they were aware, but couldn't care less. And if not for the soldiers who stopped the Russian army in the regions neighboring Dnipropetrovsk Oblast at the cost of thousands of lives, these 14 "bayonets" of Korban would have gladly joined the "government of the liberated territories," or whatever the Russians called Dnipropetrovsk Oblast. This is what they call historical memory and cause and effect. And for those who don't understand, here's the OPFL electoral map from the last elections:
The darker the blue, the higher the percentage of people who voted for the Opposition Platform — For Life. Now overlay this map on the map of military operations. And compare the results. And if anyone can, show this comparison to Gennady Olegovich Korban, who claims to be heading the defense of the Dnipropetrovsk region. And to the head of the regional center, his longtime friend and ally, Boris Albertovich Filatov, who so zealously invested in the Opposition Platform — For Life two years ago.
Skelet.Org
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