Svitlychna Yulia Oleksandrivna
Official biography
Born on June 06, 1984 in Kharkiv
Education.
Higher education, Kharkiv State University of Food Technology and Trade, International Economics, International Economist (diploma with honors); Kharkiv Regional Institute of the National Academy of Public Administration under the President of Ukraine, Public Administration, Master of Public Administration (diploma with honors).
In 2012, she completed postgraduate studies at the Kharkiv Regional Institute of the National Academy for Public Administration under the President of Ukraine, specializing in public administration mechanisms.
Academic degree, academic title: Doctor of Law, Candidate of Science in Public Administration.
Work experience.
- 10.2016 — 11.2019 — Head of Kharkiv Regional State Administration;
- 04.2016 — 10.2016 — First Deputy Head of the Kharkiv Regional State Administration;
- 11.2014 — 04.2016 — Deputy Head of the Kharkiv Regional State Administration;
- 04.2014 — 11.2014 — Director of the Department for Regional Competitiveness of the Kharkiv Regional State Administration;
- 2012 — 2014 — Deputy Director of Dornit LLC;
- 2009 — 2012 — National Academy for Public Administration under the President of Ukraine, postgraduate student;
- 2008 — 2009 — Kharkiv Regional State Administration, Head of the Department of Entrepreneurship Development and Market Relations of the Main Department of Economics;
- 2007 — 2008 — Kharkiv Regional State Administration, Head of the Price Policy Department of the Main Department of Economics;
- 2006 — 2007 — Kharkiv Regional State Administration, Chief Specialist of the Investment Policy Department of the Main Department of Economics;
- 2006 — Deputy General Director of Gamma LLC;
- 2005 — Training and Research and Production Center “Labor Protection”, Head of Department.
Awards
Acknowledgment from the Prime Minister of Ukraine. Awards from the Ministry of Economy and Trade, Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Internal Affairs, State Emergency Service of Ukraine, State Committee for Entrepreneurship and Regulatory Policy. She was awarded the medal “For Labor Achievements”.
On October 25, 2015, she was elected a deputy of the Kharkiv Regional Council of the VII convocation.
Representative of Ukraine in the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe, Vice President of the Chamber of Regions of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe.
Dirt on her
Svitlychna was too far from the real economy and life in general — she belongs to the category of officials who can stand on ruins and talk about Ukraine’s successes on the way to Europe with inspiration. And such officials are always in demand by regimes that change in a country.
The following is interesting: according to Svitlychna’s biography, she entered the National Academy of Management for postgraduate studies, which is 4 years of training, costing about $1,000 per year. After Raynin was fired from the Kharkiv Regional State Administration, it was no longer possible to pay for Svitlychna’s education with public money. But the question is different: why did Svitlychna study for only 3 years, not 4, and why did she never defend her PhD, as is usually done after graduate school? Apparently, something happened in 2012 that forced Svitlychna to leave the academy and return to Kharkiv, where she could no longer resume her job at the RSA, but was again employed by one of the Rainin’s companies: it was Dornit LLC (EDRPOU 37191069). “Dornit, like Syntoflex, was founded by Andrii Kriuchkov and Stanislav Skrypai, both companies were registered at 2 Tsementna Street. According to SKELET-info’s sources, these companies are part of the Rainin family business, and Kryuchkov and Skrypay are founders and managers of several other Rainin-related companies.
Rumors.
The media link the appointment of the young Yulia Svitlychna to the post of head of the Kharkiv Regional State Administration to the protection of former governor Ihor Rainin, who headed the Presidential Administration of Petro Poroshenko.
However, the shadow of Ihor Lvovych accompanied Yulia Svitlychna throughout her career. After all, she started her career at his father’s company. Later, she succeeded Igor Rainin as governor.
A graduate of Kharkiv University, she began her ascent from the Rainin family business. Later, Rainin Jr. was her boss at the Kharkiv Regional State Administration.
The names of Yulia Svitlychna and Ihor Rainin were associated with an intimate scandal involving the hacking of his email account. This was reported by open sources. The publications noted that “Ukrainian feminists believe her to be the mistress of the head of the Presidential Administration.”
After the hacking, their intimate online correspondence became public. A number of publications published screenshots of their correspondence. Particular attention of the public was drawn to the fact of booking a hotel in Narva for two people (Estonia) and renting an apartment in Lida, also for two people.
Private correspondence, presented to the public with screenshots, showed that the meetings took place in a hotel or rented apartment. Ihor Lvovich himself denied the connection and called it a fake. The SBU opened two criminal proceedings over the cyberattacks, as reported by open sources.
During Yulia Svitlychna ‘s governorship, there was a lot of news about her successes in the Kharkiv region. Various public organizations wrote about it. In the ratings, the governor was mostly at the top of the list. That is why she was dubbed the “queen of ratings”. However, the statistical data contradicted the ratings.
The young, promising governor of the Kherson Oblast State Administration used the excellent results only for her own PR. A number of open sources noted that her results were “inflated”. In fact, only her rating is growing, while the region’s performance is falling. The publications provide specific examples of economic indicators of Kharkiv region.
However, despite the fact that the Kharkiv region has dropped several points in terms of economic efficiency, the virtual image of Yulia Svitlychna “draws” the public a happy governor who can boast of advanced indicators in various industries.
Kharkiv residents remember the former head of the Kharkiv Regional State Administration not only for her rapid career growth and increase in her material wealth, but also for her high fictitious ratings and her secrecy from the public. After all, while NGOs were stamping out reports of her high ratings, the governor did not hold a single press conference during her 3 years in office.
According to media reports, the head of the Kherson Regional State Administration replaced her communication with journalists with a PR campaign on Facebook, which was led by her advisors. And it was not easy for ordinary citizens to get an appointment with her. Her office was often closed. It got to the point where a Kharkiv resident, Viktor Skrynnikov, filed a complaint with the court for this reason. And the Supreme Court recognized that he was right.
The governor’s main PR campaign was built on road construction and repair. The strategy of her rating promotion focused on the fact that highways were being repaired much more actively during her administration.
In 2019, media outlets wrote that Yulia Svitlychna was “saying goodbye, but not leaving…” They talked about imitating her vigorous activity, as well as her false achievements. The former governor was remembered by Kharkiv residents not only for her virtual growth rates, but also for corruption in the region. This includes deforestation, land fraud, etc.
Embezzlement of money and grants for meaningless theoretical projects
Ihor Rainin was appointed deputy head of the Kharkiv Regional State Administration in April 2014, and in November he was appointed deputy head of the Presidential Administration. Then he repeated this cycle with a promotion: from February 3, 2015, to August 29, 2016, he worked as the governor of the Kharkiv region, and then was appointed head of the Presidential Administration.
Yulia Svitlychna’s career was immediately restored. In April 2014, Rainin returned her to the RSA, appointing her director of the Department for Improving the Region’s Competitiveness. What this department was doing remained unknown: according to sources, it was “siphoning off” budget money and grants for meaningless theoretical projects, most of which remained on paper.
Clash with feminists
Ukrainian feminists are calling on the head of the Kharkiv Regional Administration, Yulia Svitlychna, who is believed to be the mistress of the head of the Presidential Administration, Ihor Rainin, to resign in protest against the openly sexist, gender-biased policies of the state leadership.
This was reported by Ukrainian journalist, TV presenter, literary critic, public figure and feminist Iryna Slavinska.
Slavinska said that the Gender in Detail project she supports has been following Svitlychna’s activities since 2015, when the details of Rainin’s intimate relationship with her were first published in the media.
“Yulia Svitlychna is a member of the Ukrainian delegation to the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe, and at the next session of the Congress, our representatives will raise the issue of Yulia Oleksandrivna’s professional incompetence and her intimate ties with the top leadership of the Ukrainian state with their European colleagues. This kind of sexism and protectionism will definitely not be tolerated in Europe,” Iryna Slavinska summarized.
Income
Svitlychna’s declaration of income, property, and financial liabilities for 2015 includes 133.7 thousand hryvnias, all of which were received as a deputy governor’s salary. That is, the official’s monthly salary amounted to UAH 11,143.
Svitlychna owns two apartments of 32.7 and 47.1 square meters. She also owns a Peugeot 2008, manufactured in 2014.
In 2015, the bank account of the head of the Kherson Regional State Administration was worth UAH 22.78 thousand.
In her 2018 declaration, Yulia Oleksandrivna listed the following assets
an apartment in Kharkiv (32 sq.m.);
apartment in Kharkiv (47 sq.m.);
a Peugeot 2008 car (made in 2014).
During the year, she earned UAH 214,710 in salary and received a gift from her mother in the amount of UAH 261,560. In addition, she has savings of more than $20,000, 7,000 euros and 100,000 hryvnias.
Another UAH 200 million will be spent to “eliminate defects” of the Lozova highway opened by Svitlychna — KHAC
The Road Service in Kharkiv region has signed an additional agreement with Avtomagistral-Pivden LLC to carry out repairs worth UAH 204 million. This is stated on the Prozorro website, according to the Kharkiv Anti-Corruption Center.
The contract is for additional repair works of the public road of national importance P-51 Merefa-Lozova-Pavlohrad on the section km 0+000 — km 131+189 (separate sections) in Kharkiv region. The agreement was concluded without bidding. On November 27, the contractor appealed to the Road Service that the condition of the existing road surface had deteriorated significantly during the repair work.
“After examining the condition of the existing pavement, namely the deformation modulus, it was determined that it did not meet the permissible values required for the rehabilitation work envisaged by the project, so a more detailed examination was needed. As a result of the additional survey, it was found that the decrease in the strength of the existing pavement was affected by waterlogging of the upper part of the subgrade and the constant movement of heavy vehicles during the period from the definition of the scope of work specified in the project to the present, and as a result, its insufficient density. Therefore, since the development of the project, there has been a need to perform additional work related to the operation of the facility in general and the inability to properly meet regulatory requirements through operational maintenance,” the contractor’s letter says.
In September, two months before the letter from Avtomagistral-Pivden LLC, the head of the regional state administration, Yulia Svitlychna, reported on the work done on this road.
“The road to Lozova has been restored. It is comfortable, safe, and of high quality — with weighing complexes built, bridge structures repaired, and all norms and standards taken into account,” the head of the region said during a working visit to Lozova district on September 16.
According to the press service, capital work on the road was carried out in 2018, restoring 35.91 km of the road surface. In 2019, another 76.3 km of the road was restored. And two months after the report, officials discovered defects worth 200 million hryvnias.
A death threat
During a press conference held on September 13, 2016, Yulia Svitlychna received a phone call with a death threat. According to some reports, the caller was located in the Russian Federation.
She forgot the Ukrainian language
In January 2016, Yulia Svitlychna, who at the time held the position of deputy head of the Kharkiv Regional State Administration, delivered a speech in Russian at an event dedicated to the Day of Unity of Ukraine. The audience, outraged by this, shouted “state” and “shame”.
The “failed” head of the Vovchansk District State Administration
In 2016, Valentyna Svitlychna (Yulia’s mother) became an advisor to Vitaliy Miroshnyk, the head of the Vovchansk District State Administration, who was appointed under the patronage of Yulia Svitlychna and Ihor Rainin, who were then both in charge of the Kharkiv region.
Miroshnyk has distinguished himself in his position only by deception. For example, he inaugurated a bus stop on a dirt road (asphalt was never laid) and… a garbage can (with no one to take the garbage out). But despite all the complaints of the residents of the Vovchansk district against their unfortunate leader, they will probably have to endure him for a long time. Miroshnyk and Svitlychna’s parents have some common interests, so even after she resigned from the governor’s post, she used hidden opportunities to support him — and Miroshnyk still retains his position.
Yulia Svitlychna donated personal protective equipment and medical equipment to medical institutions (bribery of voters)
Non-factional MP Yulia Svitlychna handed over personal protective equipment and medical equipment to medical institutions in Kharkiv region.
Summary.
Judging by Svitlychna’s biography, she did not come to her great success on her own. The shadow of Igor Rainin has been present throughout her career. And she has also been involved in corruption cases. All of her achievements are a big, overblown fake, and the money she embezzled was spent on hotels and spending time with her lover Rainin.