Zinovy Kozitsky: Father under gas, son in power. Part 1
Today, Ukraine is beginning to realize that, in place of a market economy, it has built a family-clan feudalism based on rampant corruption and chutzpah. And one of the saddest consequences of this catastrophe is the current energy crisis, which has pushed the country to the brink of survival. And the family of Lviv "gas baron" Zinoviy Kozitsky, whose son Maksym now heads the regional administration, is a classic illustration of these problems.
Until recently about the Kozitsky family The media wrote about them extremely rarely, mentioning them mainly in materials on gas production and green energy. But after appointment After Maksym Kozitskyi was appointed Chairman of the Lviv Regional State Administration in February 2020, interest in the new governor's biography grew into even greater interest in the success story of his entire family. It turned out that it was based on the Kozitskyi family's business and partnership relationships with top officials and other "important people."
Zinovy Kozitsky: How to Make Money on Needles and Pills
Zinoviy Yaroslavovych Kozitskyi was born on May 30, 1957, in the village of Berezivka, Radekhiv district, Lviv region. After graduating from high school, in 1974 he entered the medical faculty of the Lviv Medical Institute (now the Danylo Halytsky National Medical University). In 1981, after receiving a medical degree, Zinoviy Kozitskyi arrived in the district center of Mykolaiv (in the Lviv region), where he became a doctor at the Lviv Regional Psychiatric Hospital, located in the village of Zaklad. This hospital is also known as "Zaklad," and there is also a psychiatric clinical hospital in the region, located in Lviv, called "Kulparkov." Non-locals often confuse the two, which is why some articles about Zinoviy Kozitskyi erroneously state that he worked at "Kulparkov," but this is not true. From 1981 until 2003, he worked at Zaklad, living all this time in Nikolaev, where his sons Maxim (1981) and Stepan (1986) were born.
From his youth, he had a keen business acumen, but finding success in the hospital, where all the good positions were occupied by the head physician's relatives and fellow villagers, was practically impossible for a newcomer. Moreover, Soviet medicine, though modest, was effectively free and didn't yet bring in large sums of money. But chance helped Kozitsky: in 1987, he was sent to Chernobyl for two months as a doctor in the rehabilitation group, where he was able to interact with colleagues from the capital and learn from their valuable experience. Returning home with the benefits of being a "Chernobyl survivor," Zinovy Kozitsky immediately opened a medical cooperative. Let's reiterate that in Soviet times, there was no need for private diagnostic practices—unless they were staffed by renowned professors, which Kozitsky was not. So he pursued alternative medicine, opening an acupuncture clinic. At the time, people were just beginning to embrace the "wisdom of the East," so Kozitsky's venture was a success and brought him his first major income. A year later, when the “Kashpirovsky phenomenon” began in the country, Kozitsky also began to engage in psychotherapy in his cooperative.
But Zinovy Kozitsky was also a man of vision. If working at the hospital helped him open a cooperative and earn money, why not use his cooperative to further his medical career? Having reached an agreement and shared his resources with the right people, in 1989 Kozitsky opened his own department of non-drug treatments for neuroses at Zaklad. He worked there until 1992, after which, amid the onset of the crisis, he reconsidered his "convictions" and opened Intermed, a private enterprise selling imported drugs and medical equipment, which brought him significantly more money than acupuncture.
In 1995, after the situation in the country stabilized, Zinoviy Kozitsky returned to treating patients, receiving the position of deputy chief physician. At the same time, Zinoviy Kozitsky continued to develop his "pill business," serving as the official regional representative of the pharmaceutical company Pharmacia & Upjohn (USA) in 1998. Their medications sold like hot cakes both at the hospital and through its pharmacy chain. He also helped his eldest son, Maksym, graduate from Lviv Medical University. However, instead of following in his father's footsteps, Maksym chose to become a surgeon. He only worked as a surgeon for two years (2004-2006) during his internship, after which he joined the family business.
But in 2003, Zinoviy Kozitsky left his mental hospital for good, becoming the CEO of Ukrmedresurs LLC (EDRPOU 31519691), which imported and supplied medical equipment. A year later, he became the CEO of Ukrnaftogazinvest LLC (32847657).
Business partners of the Kozitskys
So who helped the Lviv psychotherapist become the energy baron of the Carpathian region? The media has mixed accounts. Some believe Kozitskyi got involved in hydrocarbon production and green energy thanks to to the Klyuev brothers and his supposed friend Nathaniel Rothschild (whom he so boasts of knowing). However, Kozitsky met them much later, when he was already the owner of several energy companies. Others claim it all began with a high-ranking patient who treated Kozitsky for his nervous disorders and suggested he take up a business far more profitable than selling drugs. However, no one has ever directly named this official. To solve this mystery, Skelet.Org I carefully studied the list of businesses owned by the Kozitsky family and their associates. And, frankly, there are quite a few potential Kozitsky patients among them!
One such enterprise is Energoinvest LLC (32847657), founded in 2003. Immediately after its creation, it began constructing a steam power plant at Lviv Thermal Power Plant No. 1. However, in 2004, it became embroiled in a corruption scandal raised by Alexander Gudyma and in early 2005 it went to court. But the lawsuit was filed... against Gudyma himself, for "defamation," since he revealed the facts equity stake in Energoinvest of the mother of the odious director of the Lvivteploenergo municipal enterprise Igor Marchak and the mother-in-law of then-mayor Lubomyr Bunyak. Immediately after this incident, Yaroslav Shpak (1938-2021) took over as CEO of Energoinvest. He had previously served as the chairman of the board of Lvivoblenergo for ten years, and before that, as the director of Krymenergo and participated in the construction of Ukraine's first solar power plants. It was Yaroslav Shpak, who became Zinoviy Kozytskyi's main business partner and introduced him to the topic of green energy.
Yaroslav Shpak
In 2004, Eco-Optima LLC (33051806), a solar and wind power company, was established. Its development was greatly facilitated by Taras Fedak, then deputy chairman of the Lviv Regional Council, who oversaw energy issues there. In 2006, Fedak became deputy head of the Lviv Regional State Administration, and in 2010, after leaving government service, he became Eco-Optima's development director. He was then re-elected to the regional council (from the PPPU), and Maksym Kozytskyi became his assistant. Now, Fedak serves as Governor Kozytskyi's advisor on matters of the region's socio-economic development. He also holds stakes in such Kozytskyi-owned enterprises as Rava-Ruska Thermal Power Plant (10%), Sambir Solar Power Plant 2 (5%), Sokal Wind Park, and Bogorodchanskyi Solar Power Plant 1.
Taras Fedak
From 2008 to 2010, the Lviv Regional State Administration was headed by Mykola Kmit, a member of Viktor Yushchenko's inner circle. His daughter, Dana Kmit, became a co-owner of a number of companies, including a partner with the Kozytsky family in such enterprises as RSS HYDRO Lviv (38057158) and the Borodchanska-1 Solar Power Plant (38370298). From 2001 to 2005, another deputy head of the Lviv Regional State Administration was Bohdan Matolich, who later headed the regional Department of Ecology and Natural Resources. Without his support, neither drilling wells nor building "green" power plants would have been possible! And here is the result: his son Anatoly Matolich received a share in the Kozitskyi enterprise “Energopark Yavoriv” (38424785) and heads the association “TEK Lvivshchyna” (35854866), also owned by the Kozitskyi family.
Bohdan Matolich
As you can see, too many Lviv officials and other stakeholders facilitated Zinoviy Kozitsky's transition from the medical business to the energy sector, and helped his companies secure lucrative contracts, licenses, loans, and so on. Were they all treated in his psychiatric hospital?
Mikhail Shpolyansky, for Skelet.Org
CONTINUED: Maxim Kozitsky and Zinovy Kozitsky: Father under the gas, son in power. Part 2
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