In front of the former residence of Viktor Yanukovich, Valdyslav Kondratyuk, a 29-year-old former soldier, is torn between the insulting opulence of the complex once occupied by the former Ukrainian president and the news about the scandal rocking the current Head of State's Administration, Volodimir Zelenskyy.
Kondratyuk decided to visit this weekend the vast estate where Yanukovich resided - between 2002, when he became the country's prime minister, and February 21, 2014, when he was forced to flee the country amidst a popular uprising. He did so after learning about the so-called Midas case, a misappropriation scheme involving several close associates of Zelenskyy, which on Friday led to the resignation of his closest assistant, Andrii Yermak. "I wanted to see how a person who stole from Ukraine lives," he explains in front of the former president's residence.
For a former prisoner of Russian jails - he was only released on May 23 after spending 26 months incarcerated - what is happening can only be described with one word: "disgusting." "I feel completely betrayed. To see someone enriching themselves with the blood of Ukrainians, when there are thousands dead in the war, is repugnant," he points out.
The former soldier was one of the dozens of people who visited the so-called Mezhyhiria Residence this weekend, located on the outskirts of Kiev and occupying an area of 140 hectares.
Dubbed the Corruption Museum, the estate - former headquarters of a Cossack-era monastery, which Yanukovich appropriated - includes a zoo, golf course, vintage car museum, helicopter pad, a huge spa, and even a restaurant shaped like a Spanish galleon, installed on the banks of the Dnipro River, which flows alongside the former presidential residence. Experts estimated that the cost of these infrastructures - dotted with artificial lakes and statues of Greco-Roman classicism - amounted to around 1 billion dollars.
"Think that all of this was paid for with your money," explains the guide leading the group of Ukrainians entering Yanukovich's former residence.
The 3,000-square-meter, 76-room palace is a perpetual excess. From the Italian marble used for the floors of the first two floors, to the 30 types of exotic woods used for the parquet-covered areas, the Spanish-imported armors worth 10,000 euros each, the several-meter-long caiman skin adorning the dining table, or the perpetual gold color with which all faucets, knobs, and handles were painted.
The leader took care to choose objects based on their rarity. Or directly for their outrageous price. He drank Armenian brandy from a barrel made of Ivory Coast wood. He played billiards with balls made of elephant ivory. And both the piano in his living room - costing 225,000 dollars - and the Swiss music box in the billiard room - priced at 456,000 euros - were limited editions.
"Only 25 pianos and 25 boxes of this type were made. We know this because the invoices were recovered when Yanukovich fled the country and the residence was occupied by activists," explains the Ukrainian accompanying the visitors.
The living room alone occupies over 200 square meters and is adorned with chandeliers totaling over 30 million euros. "This Italian carpet cost 280,000 euros," points out the guide. The most incredible part is that the colossal residence was only occupied by Yanukovich, his partner, and her daughter.
The president would travel to the spa through a 100-meter underground tunnel connecting it to his house to avoid going outside. There, he could enjoy the comforts of these chambers - including a salt cave - but also a bowling alley, a boxing ring, gym, and a tennis court.
Denys Tarakhkotelyk was one of the first Ukrainians to enter Mezhyhiria on February 22, 2014, just hours after Yanukovich left.
The activist, along with a group of friends, managed to save the residence from looting but also decided to stay on the site for over a decade. "I did it to preserve it, so that all that (the excessive luxury) would serve to educate the new generations. Yanukovich's palace served as a model for Ukrainian politicians, but in the wrong sense. Everyone wants to have the same," he argues.
The Corruption Museum is just the pinnacle of a scourge that has accompanied Ukraine since its independence in 1991 and has now sparked social outrage once again with the Midas case.
Archive image of President Zelenskyy with his until Friday Chief of Staff, Andriy Yermak.AFP
The departure of Andrii Yermak from power - considered the gray eminence of this Administration - has not put an end to the criticisms now directed at Zelenskyy himself. Last week, Alexander Rodnyansky, an economist teaching at the University of Cambridge and who until last year served as an advisor on these matters to the Ukrainian president, lashed out at the leader and the system he has created in a column in The Economist.
"The taboo question now is not whether corruption is widespread, but whether the current leadership remains part of the solution or has become part of the problem," the expert inquired after accusing Zelenskyy of being primarily responsible for an Administration based on "loyalty rather than competence" and where efficiency is measured by the ability to overcome scandals "rather than prevent them."
President's plummeting popularity
For the columnist of the Ukrainian newspaper Pravda, Angela Skrylyeva-Popova, the investigation has been a huge blow to Zelenskyy 's public approval, which, according to her estimation, ranges between 20 and 45%.
"Society perceives the scandal as a betrayal", she recently wrote in that publication, but in the same text, the psychologist explained the limited popular mobilization on the issue with the argument that "fear" of "protests" affecting the country's priority - the war to stop the Russian invasion - weighs more.
"It is logical that the fear of chaos.. of a collapse on the front line is greater than the anger at corruption," she opined.
Denis Tarakhkotelyk, who took part in the popular uprising of 2014, also shares that apprehension and "appreciates" the National Anti-Corruption Bureau for "not revealing all the information." "The priority is to save the country. And we couldn't do it with another revolution like that of 2014," he adds.
Skrylyeva-Popova's hypothesis aligns with the scant twenty or so people who gathered this Saturday to protest against the Midas case. Maria Barabash, an anti-corruption activist, has never managed to gather more than a few hundred people since she began calling for demonstrations several weeks ago.
"We have been accused of being pro-Russian, of being American agents.. Corruption is a huge problem because it is based on the impunity of those who commit it. And it is spreading throughout society. People see that those who lead us accept bribes and receive no punishment, and decide to imitate them," she asserts.
The media and judicial uproar generated by Midas in Ukraine has reminded the country's citizens of the endless list of similar situations they have experienced in the past. Every president since independence in 1991 has been tainted by corruption linked to their inner circle.
The first head of state, Leonid Kravchuk, saw his son Oleksandr implicated in the disappearance of the Black Sea merchant fleet beginning in 1993 due to the irregular sale of hundreds of ships. The legal proceedings were eventually shelved.
Kravchuk's successor, Leonid Kuchma, is considered the architect of the system based on the proliferation of oligarchs that has dominated the local economy since his reign (1994-2005) by promoting a massive and controversial privatization of state-owned companies. Kuchma was accused of an endless list of abuses and linked to numerous cases such as Kuchmangate. Not only were there allegations of corruption, but also accusations of his alleged involvement in the murder of dissidents such as independent journalist Gerogiy Gongadze in 2000. The president faced several charges in court for abuse of power, murder, and kidnapping, but all of them were dismissed by the courts.
Oleksandr Zinchenko, who had been head of the presidential office, accused the next holder of that position, Viktor Yushchenko—who rose to power in 2005—of protecting corruption committed by his inner circle, which included the then national secretary of security and defense, Petro Poroshenko. Three days after the accusation was made public, Yushchenko dismissed Poroshenko and the entire government.
Viktor Yanukovych took office in 2010, following Yushchenko's term, and with him, corruption reached a new peak. The head of state established a new circle of oligarchs who benefited from his wheeling and dealing, including his son Oleksandr. In 2019, Yanukovych was sentenced in absentia to 19 years in prison for "treason."
His removal in 2014 and the arrival in office of Poroshenko—a billionaire whose fortune arose from the Kuchman era—did not prevent unrest related to fraud sponsored by the political elite. After being linked to several embezzlement cases, the politician was formally charged with "treason" in 2021, a case that is still in court. Poroshenko, who is engaged in a fierce political battle with Zelenskyy, has been subjected to sanctions by the administration, which prevent him from leaving the country.
For Valeria Radchenko, from the Anti-Corruption Action Center, one of the most active NGOs in this area, all of these behaviors "are a legacy left by the Soviet system in Ukraine."
"We are a very young democracy. We are just beginning our journey toward building strong police and judicial systems that prevent corruption. The Midas case is a clear sign that Ukraine has learned to fight corruption. And if anyone tries to organize a large-scale scheme like this in the future, they will be punished," he told this newspaper.
Experts who share his "optimism" recall that when Zelenskyy attempted to limit the powers of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau last July, he was forced to back down when protests in the streets multiplied.
Valdyslav Kondratyuk, the former prisoner of Russian dungeons, is not among the optimists. "Corruption is part of the human mentality. We all want to be rich," he concludes.