Oleg Musiy
Not everyone can withstand the test of time. This was the case with Oleg Musiy, whose face appeared on Moscow billboards more than a month ago—long before the start of the local election campaign.
Oleh Musiy became widely known after being widely featured during the Maidan. Along with the "medical hundred," he helped protesters. This fame turned him into a politician. But, as it turned out, one of St. Petersburg's principles clearly came into play here: "Everyone builds a career to the level of their incompetence." That is, people climb the career ladder until they can no longer cope. Those who are strong in such a situation either resign or begin actively improving their position, simultaneously finding effective allies who can cover for their lack of knowledge or skills. That turned out to be quite different in our case. But let's take things one step at a time.
Immediately after the Maidan, Musiy, quite predictably, was appointed Minister of Health. He was competing with Olha Bogomolets for the post, but she lacked political support, while she clearly had an abundance of connections to her "former" (and who didn't have those connections?).
Oleg Musiy began his tenure at the Ministry of Health by appointing people with no connection to healthcare to his deputies. This included Natalia Lisnevskaya, a lawyer and lecturer in one of the law departments at the Aviation University (she was dismissed by the Cabinet of Ministers in March 2015 "at her own request"). And Yuriy Savko, a former political scientist, former programmer, and, until recently, director of the Association of Innovative Drug Manufacturers. Conflict of interest? No, never heard of it. Although the grounds for seeing signs of illegal lobbying here are overwhelming. Perhaps that's why Savko was dismissed even before Lisnevskaya – at the end of January 2015. And also "at his own request."
In principle, Musiy's lack of the required medical management competencies is understandable, even though he graduated from medical school. After all, he only worked as a doctor for two years after his internship, until 1992. His official Wikipedia biography then has a long gap—the next information is dated 2008, when he began pursuing postgraduate studies in healthcare management. However, unofficial sources indicate that between 1992 and 2008, he was actively involved in medical-related businesses (medicines, medical equipment, etc.), and also founded the All-Ukrainian Medical Society.
Musiy began his reforms at the Ministry of Health by legalizing his predecessors' dubious operation. He began distributing ambulances purchased by his predecessors to the regions so quickly that the government was unable to challenge the purchase, made in 2013 at obscenely inflated prices. The operation happened so quickly that it was too late to reverse the decision.
Then there were scandals with the strange appointment of the head of the State Sanitary and Epidemiological Service, and the even stranger appointment of a new director of the state enterprise Indar (a manufacturer of insulin for diabetics and a number of other vital drugs).
By early autumn 2014, Musiy was having trouble preparing for huge tenders for the purchase of medical equipment, pharmaceuticals, and much more. He was regularly reprimanded for failing to initiate preliminary negotiations with manufacturing companies, especially domestic ones. Ultimately, tenders were postponed or held with a narrower pool of participants, which negatively impacted competition and, consequently, prices and procurement parameters. For example, the well-known scandal surrounding the procurement of antiviral drugs for the treatment of hepatitis C through a tender took place after Musiy's departure, but had been in the works since his tenure as minister. This scandal prominently implicated Mr. Petro Bagriy (a well-known pharmaceutical businessman whose companies lead in winning Ministry of Health tenders) and Mr. Dmytro Sherembey (one of the leaders of the organization "Patients of Ukraine"). Then, by a strange coincidence, one of Bagriy's companies received a government contract to purchase a drug whose exclusive use was lobbied for by Sherembey, who relied on the authority of "Patients of Ukraine."
Musiy's tenure as minister ended with a resounding reprimand from the prime minister for incompetence and the lack of reform results, and his removal from the post in early October 2014.
Upon leaving, he launched a powerful public campaign accusing everyone and everything of corruption, including within the department he headed. But here's the interesting thing: Musiy never initiated a single internal investigation within his own ministry, nor did he draw up a single report on corrupt practices.
But Oleh Musiy managed to register as a candidate for the Verkhovna Rada elections in the fall of 2014 almost immediately and win a seat in the Verkhovna Rada in single-member constituency No. 124, which is located in the Lviv region (including the cities of Sokal and Chervonohrad). Evil tongues claim that this constituency is the fiefdom of Ihor Kryvetskyi (a people's deputy, often nicknamed "Pups").Read more about it in the article Igor Krivetsky: Svoboda's criminal sponsors)). And they, the evil tongues, claim that without Pups's assistance, the elections would have been impossible to win, let alone even hold. This theory is indirectly confirmed by the political party Oleh Musiy resurfaced with when he left the BPP faction in August 2015 after nine months in it.
There's no doubt that Musiy won the 2014 single-mandate election thanks to generous sponsorship. His income for two years (2013 and 2014) totaled approximately 600 hryvnias (from the sale of real estate, as indicated in his tax return). For that kind of money ($40 at the November 2014 exchange rate), it's impossible to run a campaign in a single-mandate constituency, let alone pay for a headquarters staff at market rates.
Musiy's membership in the BPP faction served him well – it allowed him to actively attack his successor at the Ministry of Health. The current Minister of Health has complained about this on numerous occasions. For example, on September 18, Health Minister Oleksandr Kvitashvili stated on Channel 5: "I won't be able to work with this committee. And if parliament wants to keep me in this position, then the committee's composition needs to be changed. If that doesn't happen, then I simply won't be able to do anything, because either everything is blocked (by the relevant committee – ed.), or initiatives are being put forward that prevent me from getting anything done." "This isn't sabotage against me, but sabotage against the country and against reform. If Ukraine doesn't begin making changes this year, it will delay reform for many, if not years, then certainly months," the minister added.
As is known, the committee is headed by Olga Bogomolets, and one of her deputies is Oleg Musiy.
But, as mentioned earlier, in August 2015, Musiy received an offer he couldn't refuse—and he took it. He slammed the door on the BPP and jumped ship to the People's Control party, the name of which he now appears on billboards across the capital. According to the publication "Levyi Bereg," the newly formed political force is sponsored by the same Igor Krivetskyi. If this is true, then he financed the numerous billboards on the streets of Kyiv—bearing Musiy's face and the People's Control logo.
In what capacity and where will Oleg Musiy resurface? Why was an advertising campaign funded that rivals that of the current Moscow mayor? The answer clearly lies somewhere between the pharmaceutical industry, pharmaceutical lobbying, and big-time politics.
In topic: Oleg Musiy. The militant medic
Ruslan Yakushev
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