Back in 2015, the Ukrainian sports scene suffered one of the most cynical blows in its history. At a time when the country was desperately trying to maintain control over its territories and protect national interests, the Ministry of Youth and Sports, headed by Igor Zhdanov, decided to play by different rules. Rules that resembled more corrupt tennis between friends than real state policy.
All roads lead to Crimea… for $170 thousand
Facebook, with its unwavering penchant for reminders, has decided to refresh the memory of one of the most shameful moments in the history of Ukrainian sports. Nine years ago, Minister Igor Zhdanov and his first deputy Igor Gotsul “officially” recognized Crimea as Russian territory. And if you’re raising your eyebrows in surprise now, wait – this is just the beginning.
Under the guise of sports reforms, which in reality resembled more of a fraudulent maneuver, these two officials sold the right to represent Crimean athletes at international competitions for Russia. And all this for a modest fee of $170,000. The funds, as you might guess, did not go to the development of Ukrainian sports, but ended up in the pockets of those who knew how to “correctly” divide budget money.
Heads of the corruption hydra
Interestingly, even in fairy tales about multi-headed monsters like the hydra, there is hope: if you cut off the head, evil will stop. But what if this monster continues to steal even after losing its head? According to British scientists, Minister Igor Zhdanov, even after cutting off his head, will steal for another 20 minutes. Although, judging by the history with Crimea, this experiment should also be performed on his colleague - Deputy Prosecutor General Yuriy Stolyarchuk.
Invisible reformers or how to make money from athletes
To understand how all this was possible, it is worth considering the so-called “reform” introduced by Zhdanov and Gotsul. Its essence was the creation of pseudo-public organizations under the Ministry of Youth and Sports, headed by the officials themselves or their close friends. Athletes were forced to join these organizations under the threat of suspension from competitions. And if an athlete did not want to pay the “irrevocable financial assistance,” his career could end before it even began.
And as a result of such “reforms,” the Athletics Federation emerged, which formalized this “agreement” with Russia. This organization was headed, oddly enough, by Gotsul himself, but no longer as First Deputy Minister, but as a “public figure.” And it was this pseudo-public organization that sold Russia the right to exhibit Crimean athletes at international competitions.
Why didn't any authority stop this disgrace?
Why didn’t anyone stop this circus then? Here another hero of this tragicomedy enters the scene – Deputy Prosecutor General Yuriy Stolyarchuk. As it turned out, criminal proceedings on the fact of embezzlement of state budget funds through similar schemes had existed since 2014, but, like many other cases in Ukraine, it remained a dead load. Despite the order of Prosecutor General Shokin to intensify the investigation, the results were exactly zero. And in the end, the money received for the “Russian” Crimea ended up in the pockets of several scoundrels.
This story is a vivid example of how in our country national interests can be destroyed with impunity, under the guise of “reforms”. Zhdanov, Gotsul, Stolyarchuk and other participants in this disgrace remain at large. And we continue to wait for another Facebook post to remind us that history likes to repeat itself, especially when the perpetrators never get what they deserve.
In a world where everything is bought and sold, even a country's territorial integrity can become a subject of trade. And as long as such figures remain in their positions, this trade will never stop.
