Zhuravko Oleksii Valeriiovych
Official biography
Place of birth: April 21, 1974, Zhovti Vody, Dnipropetrovska oblast.
From 1993 to 1997 — founder and director of Zhuravushka Private Enterprise, Tsyurupynsk.
From 1997 to 2004 — co-founder and director of the Commonwealth of Initiative able-bodied disabled people, LLC.
Since 1999 — President of the All-Ukrainian Association of able-bodied disabled.
From 2004 to 2006 — General Director, Commonwealth of Initiative able-bodied disabled, LLC.
Since 2004 — Chairman of the All-Ukrainian Union of Public Organizations “Confederation of Public Organizations of Disabled People of Ukraine”.
From 2006 to 2007 — Member of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine (5th convocation). Secretary of the Committee on Pensioners, Veterans and the Disabled. Member of the Party of Regions faction.
From 11.2007 to 12.2012 — Member of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine (6th convocation). Secretary of the Committee on Pensioners, Veterans and the Disabled. Member of the Party of Regions faction.
17.04.2013 — 05.03.2014 — Government Commissioner for the Rights of the Disabled.
On 03/05/2014, the position of the Government Commissioner for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities was abolished by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine.
Education.
In 2007 he graduated from Kherson State University, specialty: “Economic Theory”.
Dirt on him
Former MP Oleksiy Zhuravko is suspected of acting to the detriment of sovereignty and territorial integrity, public calls for an aggressive war, and the production and distribution of materials justifying Russian aggression. The suspicion was published on the website of the Prosecutor General’s Office.
Brief information about Zhuravko on the CHESNO website:
Oleksiy Zhuravko, a former member of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine from the Party of Regions, fled to Russia in 2015. Zhuravko is on the wanted list:
According to the suspicion, Zhuravko distributed materials on Vkontakte and his telegram channel aimed at destabilizing the situation in the country and demoralizing the people and army of Ukraine. Articles on propaganda websites:
For example, on April 4, 2022, Zhuravko published a post on Vkontakte: “The enemies’ slander is not a hindrance to our victory!“, expressing his opinion on ‘terrible slander and insinuations about the ’allegedly killed civilians’ in Bucha”. In April, he posted a post about the raised tricolor over the “liberated” part of Zaporizhzhia: “Dear friends! The tricolor has been raised over the liberated part of Zaporizhzhia! For most residents of the liberated territories, the blue and yellow flag is associated with death and effort. It was under this flag that Donbas residents were killed for the last 8 years, and then people in the Ukrainian territories.”
Zhuravko on biolabs, Zelensky, Lukashenko:
According to media reports, after the Russian invasion of 2022, Zhuravko returned to the Kherson region and took part in a number of propaganda events of the “new government”. There was also information that the occupiers had appointed Heorhiy Zhuravko, a relative of Oleksiy Zhuravko, as the “mayor” of Oleshky.
Zhuravko returned to Kherson:
As a reminder, Zhuravko was served in absentia with a notice of suspicion of facilitating the activities of a terrorist organization and actions aimed at overthrowing the constitutional order, as well as violating the procedure for entering and leaving the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine. The SBU issued an absentee suspicion to A. Zhuravko:
According to the investigation, the former MP supported the annexation of Crimea and Russia’s occupation of Donbas from the beginning of Russian aggression. In addition, having moved to Russia in 2015, he continued to take an active part in promoting pro-Russian sentiment in southern Ukraine, particularly in Kherson region. Zhuravko commented on the suspicion against him on Facebook, saying that he was proud to be a member of the Party of Regions.
Oleksiy Zhuravko on the Myrotvorets website:
Since the end of 2015, he has been on the Ukrainian wanted list. In 2021, Zhuravko’s case was transferred to the Kherson City Court.
Zhuravko’s propaganda stories about World War III and how Russia will win it:
Southern regions have no place in Ukraine — former MP
Former member of the Verkhovna Rada Oleksiy Zhuravko said that the southern regions have no place in Ukraine because they have always historically belonged to Russia.
In his commentary to RIA Novosti, the politician expressed confidence that the process of transferring the territory of Novorossiya to Russian control has already begun and is irreversible.
Oleksiy Zhuravko became a Russian citizen and joined the United Russia party
From the Russian media:
A politician from Kherson, Oleksiy Zhuravko, received a membership card of the United Russia party from the hands of the State Duma Deputy Speaker Anna Kuznetsova.
Oleksiy Zhuravko, a former member of the Verkhovna Rada from the Party of Regions, was forced to leave his small homeland after the 2014 coup due to the threat of political repression.
Zhuravko was granted Russian citizenship and a United Russia membership card:
Despite his harsh criticism of the Banderite regime in Kyiv, his trips to Donbas and Crimea, he has emphasized over the years that he remains a Ukrainian politician and hopes to return to power after Ukraine’s liberation.
Therefore, obtaining Russian citizenship and joining the United Russia party can be considered another proof that Kherson region will not return to an independent Ukraine.
According to Politnavigator, Zhuravko can use his experience in the Verkhovna Rada, where he was in charge of protecting the rights of the disabled, in Russian conditions.
EX-PEOPLE’S DEPUTY FROM THE PARTY OF REGIONS ZHURAVKO THREATENED A BLOGGER BECAUSE OF CRITICAL ARTICLES ABOUT HIM
On September 8, 2015, former MP from the Party of Regions Oleksiy Zhuravko threatened Dmytro Voronov, a blogger from Tsyurupynsk (Kherson region) and editor of Oleshya Online, in a telephone conversation because of articles published on the website of the publication.
Voronov told IMI that on September 4, Oleshya Online published an article entitled “Oleksiy Zhuravko gave an interview on a separatist channel”, which referred to Zhuravko’s anti-Ukrainian propaganda.
According to Voronov, the ex-deputy called from a Russian number.
“This is Alexey Valerievich Zhuravko calling. Do you know him? How do you spell it? Is it okay? What do you call me — a terrorist or a separatist? Have you seen the movie “The Wedding in Malynivka”? Do you remember how they changed hats there? Well, you won’t be able to change your hat. Life does not stand still and changes very quickly. In the near future, the situation will change dramatically. Did you hear me? I’ve said everything,” Zhuravko told the blogger in a telephone conversation.
Voronov also said that on September 3, an article about Zhuravko’s squatting of a land plot on the Konka River was published on the website of the publication “Self-seizure of the banks of the Konka by Oleksiy Zhuravko in Tsyurupynsk (document)”.
The documents confirming this fact were removed, but the article itself remained:
From the article «Self-occupation of the banks of the Conca by Oleksiy Zhuravko in Tsyurupynsk (document)»:
Dmytro Voronov is also a member of the Oleshkivskyi Spas public association, which collected several hundred signatures in favor of revoking Zhuravko’s status as an honorary citizen of Tsiurupynsk. This was also reported on the publication’s website.
As Kherson Online reminds, on February 21, 2015, Oleksiy Zhuravko took part in the Anti-Maidan rally-march in Moscow, which aimed to prevent the emergence of Maidan in Russia:
Fugitive Zhuravko’s business empire: who holds the umbrella?
Oleksiy Zhuravko was a successful businessman and MP from the ruling party yesterday, but for three years now he has been a fugitive separatist and Moscow propagandist. The Security Service of Ukraine has put him on the wanted list, he is a suspect in actions aimed at changing the constitutional order and seizing power. However, as the correspondents of the Center for Investigative Journalism found out, this does not interfere with Oleksiy Zhuravko’s business and influence: all these years his enterprises in Ukraine have been operating without any obstacles, and his trusted people have retained their positions and parliamentary mandates.
At first glance, Oleshky is an ordinary town near Kherson, with an ordinary garment factory at the entrance and ordinary people. What is striking about the town is that there are signs everywhere with the logo of the Union of Initiative Disabled People and the name Zhuravushka. There are dozens of them in the town — these businesses and shops are part of the business empire of a man whom everyone in Oleshky knows. It doesn’t take long to find them, just ask any passerby where Oleksiy Zhuravko’s shops and businesses are.
Local resident Oleksandr points us to the building next door and says that it is Zhuravka’s children’s store.
“The Zhuravka Grill Bar is Zhuravko’s, and he also made the park here. And there are trucks here somewhere — Zhuravko is the owner there, too,” says Valentyna, who had shot us elsewhere.
And this is just one of the streets in Oleshky, where we counted five businesses owned by Oleksiy Zhuravko.
“Four years of practically war, and the state has not dealt with the fugitive separatist and his property. His brother, Heorhiy Zhuravko, is the head of the Oleshya utility company. All of his murtadas are members of the district council. That is, the empire has not completely disintegrated. His admirers are here, locally,” says Oleksandr Tsehelnyk, a public figure and volunteer.
A search in state registers shows: “The Union of Initiative Disabled Persons with Ability to Work has about a dozen subsidiaries and related companies registered in Oleshky, Zaporizhzhia, and Kyiv. “Daughters” SIPI operate in a wide variety of areas, as indicated in their names: auto, electric, aqua.
There are 18 of them:
TheYunistgarment factory, where the ultimate beneficiaries are Oleksiy Zhuravko and his long-term partner Guram Apostolid, continues to participate in tenders and supply products even to law enforcement agencies. For example, the National Police Department recently purchased bedding from Yunost through an intermediary.
At the same time, Zhuravko sends “greetings” to his countrymen from Moscow, where he has settled under the wing of the Azarov-Oliynyk-Tsarev “Committee for the Salvation of Ukraine”: He calls on officers of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Security Service of Ukraine to “get off their knees” and “repel the bloody regime” (in fact, he calls for a rebellion), organizes the distribution of leaflets with anti-Ukrainian propaganda and calls to “cleanse Ukraine of Banderites” on the eve of Independence Day, and threatens blogger Dmitry Voronov (who, by the way, later became the mayor of Oleshky) by phone for critical publications.
“Oleksiy Valeriyovych’s empire is still here, and maybe not as active, but it works, and it works for him personally. All the companies that have been transferred or sold are fake. That is, Alexey Valerievich controls them. As far as we have information, his people are still traveling there, and they send income and finances to the “other side”. That is, where Oleksiy Valeriyovych is,” said Oleksandr Tsehelnyk.
We were unable to talk to employees of SIPI enterprises to verify the accuracy of this information. Despite the working hours, the doors of the companies were closed. Journalist Taras Buzak has been following the activities of politician and businessman Zhuravka for several years, and he is sure that the old scheme is still in place.
“If you look at the composition of the Oleshky District Council, there are a lot of people who worked under him, who were called Zhuravka’s people back then. They are still deputies and even in leadership positions,” says Buzak.
The inaction of the authorities in resolving the issue of Oleksiy Zhuravko’s business assets and the influence of his people on the authorities is also evidenced by ATO veterans in Oleshky, who suspect that the money earned in Kherson region is used to fight against Ukraine, which is being waged by the fugitive politician.
“No one in our district is fighting Zhuravko, nor separatism (and he is a symbol of separatism here). Nobody cares that the money goes to Crimea, Russia, Donetsk. The situation is as follows: the deputies who were in power under him continue to work now,” says Oleksandr, an ATO participant.
“It is impossible to say that the SBU is completely inactive in this story. They prevent provocations that were being prepared for Independence Day and detain people with leaflets. However, the criminal proceedings, which were opened in March 2015, apparently have not been investigated yet, as the indictment has not been sent to court. The Center for Investigative Journalism, in an attempt to obtain up-to-date information on Zhuravko’s case, sent an information request to the SBU, but in violation of the law on access to public information, no response was provided within the time limit established by law.
A review of the court rulings issued in the court case No. 766/7392/16-к leads to the conclusion that the criminal proceedings initiated by the SBU against Mr. Zhuravko have undergone changes in the qualification of the crime of which he is suspected. The rulings of October 2015 state that the Investigation Department of the SBU Office is conducting a pre-trial investigation in criminal proceedings No. 22015230000000011 of 12.03.2015, on the grounds of a crime under Art. 258-5, Part 1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (financing of terrorism). 1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (financing of terrorism). Investigating this particular crime, investigators gained access to the bank accounts of all Zhuravko’s enterprises and found that between April and November 2014, more than half a million hryvnias were transferred from them to the accounts of enterprises located in the occupied territory of Donbas. The following is a quote from the court ruling of October 2, 2015:
“During the pre-trial investigation, it was established that in the period from April to November 2014, a citizen of Ukraine PERSON_2, acting illegally, using enterprises controlled by him, intentionally, with the aim of material and financial support of the terrorist organizations “Donetsk People’s Republic” and “Luhansk People’s Republic” (hereinafter — “DPR” and “LPR”), without the intention of creating legal consequences, without the actual transfer of goods from the seller to the buyer, i.e. “LPR”, located in Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
Thus, in the period from April to November 2014, PERSON_2, from the accounts of SE SIPI AQUA, SE SIPI Auto, SE SIPI Electro, LLC Bud City, LLC Bread City, ME Oleshky, OJSC Tsyurupynska Sewing Factory Yunist and LLC Medical Center Med City to the accounts of DTEK Rovenkyantratsyt LLC (Rovenky, Luhansk region). Rovenky, Luhansk Oblast) to the accounts of DTEK Rovenkyanthracite LLC (Rovenky, Luhansk Oblast). Rovenky, Luhansk region), DTEK Sverdlovanthracite LLC (Sverdlovsk, Luhansk region) and Ukrainian Product PE (Donetsk) were transferred funds in the total amount of UAH 563,620.40.”
However, as early as December 14, 2015, the decision of the same court case, with the same criminal proceeding number, states that “The Investigation Department of the Security Service of Ukraine in Kherson region is conducting a pre-trial investigation in criminal proceedings No. 22015230000000011 of 21.05.2003 on the commission of a criminal offense under Part 2 of Article 109 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine — Actions aimed at violent change or overthrow of the constitutional order or the seizure of state power”. And the following decisions are variations on the refusals of investigating judges at the request of SBU investigators to authorize Zhuravko’s detention “in order to participate in the consideration of the motion for a preventive measure in the form of detention.”
The judges’ argument is that Zhuravko is not on the international wanted list. As practice shows, Zhuravko does not face an Interpol red card under this article of the Criminal Code, as they believe that suspects of crimes against the security of the state may be pursuing political views. The same cannot be said about terrorist financing, but this article no longer appears in the court documents in this case! Even more confusion is caused by the summons for Zhuravko for interrogation on August 29 and September 31, the text of which is posted on the SBU website. It generally states that the criminal proceeding №22015230000000011 was opened … on 23.09.2015. These “findings” in Zhuravko’s case, of course, require competent explanations from the SBU, so we will send another request to the central office of the special service.
But let’s get back to the events in Oleksiy Zhuravko’s business kingdom that are still no less unclear. After the former MP fled to Russia, the business was run by his partner, Gurami Apostolid. However, in early November, the registration data of the main company, Union of Initiative Disabled People, LLC, changed: Oleksiy Zhuravko was removed from the founders, his share was now registered to Vladyslav Cherkesov, and the authorized capital increased 8 times — from 10 to 80 million hryvnias.
Activists doubt that these changes mean that Zhuravko has lost control of the business, as Cherkesov is not a stranger to him.
“Well, if we see people who were his assistants, managers of his business structures, then what can this mean? Who is this person? We open Murtada’s website and see that he was his assistant consultant!” says Taras Buzak.
Vladyslav Cherkesov was indeed an assistant to MP Zhuravka in the Verkhovna Rada of the V convocation on a pro bono basis. However, it seems that the case is not as simple as it seems at first glance. The complicated processes around the fugitive politician’s business are evidenced by the fact that Zhuravka’s partner, Gurami Apostolidi, filed a lawsuit accusing the unnamed person of forging a power of attorney from Oleksiy Zhuravka, illegally selling a 95% stake in SIPI and increasing his share.
Apostolid refused to speak to Gurami on camera. He assures that according to the documents, he is the sole owner of the company, as he bought it from Zhuravka, and also under a power of attorney that the fugitive issued in Russia for Apostolid’s wife.
The next court hearing was supposed to take place on October 7, but it was postponed. We managed to talk to Vladislav Cherkesov, who, according to the state register, is now the ultimate beneficiary and head of SIPI LLC with a share of 76 million hryvnias.
Cherkesov said that in the past he had indeed been a partner of Oleksiy Zhuravko, but they have not had any joint business for more than a decade. He assures that he bought out his 95% stake in SIPI through an intermediary on legal grounds.
“I own a controlling stake, I am the legal owner in all legal bases, and the party is providing (the court — ed.) with some documents, but I think our law enforcement agencies will sort it out,” says Vladislav Cherkesov.
It appears that Oleksiy Zhuravko’s assets have either been sold several times, or this is a scheme whereby one of the parties wants to actually “abandon” the other. Law enforcement officers should shed some light on the situation by simply checking the authenticity and legality of the powers of attorney used by the parties.
In October, a court decision seized the property of SIPI LLC. But not as part of the criminal proceedings that the SBU is investigating against Zhuravko, who is wanted on suspicion of a crime against the state, but to ensure the storage of real estate during the litigation of his partners.
Fugitive separatist Oleksiy Zhuravko’s business is being sued by his former assistant and partner
A lawsuit over the rights to the assets of the company of former Party of Regions MP Oleksiy Zhuravko, who fled to Russia, is underway in Kherson Oblast. By a court decision, the property of SITI LLC, where Oleksiy Zhuravko was the ultimate beneficiary until recently, was seized.
This was reported to the Center for Investigative Journalism by entrepreneurs Gurami Apostolidi and Vladyslav Cherkesov, who are suing for 95% of the Union of Initiative Able-bodied Disabled Persons (SITI LLC) (Union of Initiative Able-bodied Disabled Persons LLC).
After Zhuravko’s escape, SITI was run by his business partner Gurami Apostolidi. However, in early November, the registration data of the parent company changed: Oleksiy Zhuravko was removed from the founders, his share was now registered to Vladyslav Cherkesov, and the authorized capital increased 8 times — from UAH 10 million to UAH 80 million.
Zhuravko’s partner, Gurami Apostolidi, filed a lawsuit, accusing an unnamed person of forging a power of attorney from Oleksiy Zhuravko, illegally selling a 95% stake in SITI and increasing the authorized capital to dilute his share.
Gurami Apostolidi refused to speak on camera. He claims that, according to the documents, he is the sole owner of the company, as he bought it from Zhuravko, and also under a power of attorney issued by the fugitive in Russia for Apostolidi’s wife.
The next court hearing was scheduled for October 7, but was postponed. Vladyslav Cherkesov, who, according to the Unified State Register, is currently the ultimate beneficiary and head of SITI LLC with a share of UAH 76 million, said that he had bought Zhuravko’s business through an intermediary on legal grounds.
“I own a controlling stake, I am the legal owner in all legal databases, the other party is providing (the court) with some documents, but I think our law enforcement agencies will sort it out,” said Vladislav Cherkesov.
Oleksiy Zhuravko’s uncle is running for MP
The Central Election Commission has registered Heorhiy Zhuravko as a candidate for MP in the 186th constituency.
Data from the website “CHESNO”:
This was reported by the Hryvnia website.
Heorhiy Zhuravko is a deputy of the Oleshky District Council from the Opposition Bloc party. He is a native uncle of former MP from the Party of Regions Oleksiy Zhuravko. The accusations of his nephew of separatism, treason, and financing of terrorism do not prevent his uncle from working and running for MP.
Data from the CHESNO website:
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Heorhiy Zhuravko is also the director of the Oleshky municipal enterprise of the Oleshky District Council, which is engaged in sand mining. He is listed as one of the founders of the Oleshky Cottage Town cooperative, along with Guram Apostolidi, an assistant to his nephew Oleksiy Zhuravko, to whom he transferred almost all business in Oleshky and Kherson.
Separatist Oleksiy Zhuravko is deprived of the title of honorary resident of Tsyurupynsk
29.12.2015 г.
The issue of revoking Zhuravko’s honorary title was included in the agenda of the session of the Tsyurupynsk City Council, Khersonski Visti reports.
The relevant commission approved the draft decision and as a result, 19 out of 26 deputies voted for it.
In addition, the session also “wrapped up” 5 land plots in the city center on Samartsya Street, located behind the “White Acacia”, as these plots are registered in the names of relatives and bodyguards of Oleksiy Zhuravko. As a result of the vote, a temporary deputy commission was set up to study this issue, which included the leaders of all city council factions and members of the land commission.
Summary.
Despite the fact that Zhuravko left Ukraine in 2015, his intermediaries continued to do business in the Kherson region and continue their anti-Ukrainian activities. Now that the Kherson region is occupied, Oleksiy has returned home and is spreading Kremlin slogans.