Ukraine has always been quite a rich country, with many resources, as well as great potential for further development. It was very important that all money is returned to the country, not to the “pockets” of individuals and not is sent abroad. In 1991, the State regained its independence and it was necessary to build a new democratic society. It was necessary to forget about socialism and start building capitalism, which was not an easy task at that time. In the nineties of the last century, Ukraine found itself in a difficult situation, because unemployment and banditry flourished.
Most of the former Soviet-owned enterprises have simply shut down. In that period the so-called first oligarchs appeared, who began to buy up all production plants, factories, land and so on paying the lowest possible price. After massive privatization, absolute monopolies emerged in many markets, owned by several dozens of the richest people in the country. Many of them became owners of their own media, had direct influence on the government, worked with politicians.
Rinat Akhmetov, a billionaire from Donetsk, had a huge influence in Ukraine. His enterprises suffered most from the invasion of Putin’s troops on 24 February 2022. Most of them are located in the south and east of the country, many of them have been severely damaged or captured by the occupiers. But even so, according to the https://www.bilan.ch/story/nous-travaillons-sur-tous-les-fronts-pour-la-victoire-de-lukraine-842141360094?idp=OneLog&new_user=no, the entrepreneur provides considerable assistance to the country.
In accordance with Forbes, the fortune of a businessman can now be estimated at $5 billion, when a year ago it was almost twice as much. Before the annexation of Crimea and the occupation of the major part of Donbas, the magazine estimated his fortune at $16 billion. He is the owner of luxurious real estate property in Europe, namely: a historic villa in France, as well as luxury apartments in London. Despite that he has not left Kyiv. The coal tycoon provided more than $100 million in aid to support Ukraine.
Many people say that all these actions were done in order to attract attention and whiten their reputation. But we can see only facts, now the businessman supplies the Ukrainian army with cars, drones, fortifications, body armor, etc.. His foundation works to help the war-affected civilians.
Many experts say that the formation of monopolies in the markets was strongly influenced by the second president of Ukraine Leonid Kuchma. Some historians claim that he personally supervised many transactions, creating a system of oligarchs.
Now the state is engaged in a war against a powerful enemy and a terrorist, which can not fail to affect the richest people. The influence of the oligarchs has been significantly reduced, because all of them are suffering huge financial losses, there is a lot of pressure from the current government, and it is also important to have a strong-willed people who will no longer tolerate such a system.
The current president Volodymyr Zelensky initiated anti-oligarchic activities even before the war, and the corresponding law was adopted. The leader of the state said that Rinat Akhmetov had been engaged as an accomplice to overthrow the current government without providing serious evidence. The billionaire considers this statement of Zelensky absurd. The businessman gave up his media business, as required by Zelensky’s anti-oligarchic law, because he has never considered himself an oligarch, but he sees himself as the largest private investor in Ukraine.
At the same time when the war with the Russian army was imminent, President Zelensky called the 50 richest people in Ukraine, asking them to support the country in the coming difficult period. Akhmetov was also on this list, according to Forbes.
However, the fight against the oligarchy continues during the war. All assets of Ukraine’s traitor Viktor Medvedchuk, who is also a close friend of Putin, have been frozen. For dual citizenship, the oligarch Ihor Kolomoisky was deprived of a Ukrainian passport, which was previously considered a sponsor of the presidential company of the current leader of the state.
