DNIPROPETROVSK, Ukraine -- Borys Filatov, the newly appointed deputy governor of Dnipropetrovsk, earlier this month exited his glossy S-class Mercedes.
Wearing a dapper blue suit, the millionaire businessman headed to the entrance of a drab administration building like he had done for about two weeks, since his long-time business partner and friend Ihor Kolomoyskiy became the oblast’s governor in early March.
Kolomoyskiy, worth of $2.4 billion, claimed he volunteered for the position to “calm down the region” following the EuroMaidan Revolution that overthrew President Viktor Yanukovych on Feb. 22.
His main task as deputy governor has been preventing the separatist movements in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast from gaining traction. As a Russian-speaking region bordering with Donetsk and Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk – the nation’s second most populous oblast with 3.3 million people — is in the separatism risk group, so to speak. The pro-Russian rallies here saw thousands turn out, but they never resulted in bloody standoffs, like in other eastern regions.
Filatov, 42, is moving fast to change the face of government.
In a March 13 meeting with heads of district administrations, Filatov looked tense, tired and angry. When some 100 old-school provincial officials gathered in the auditorium waiting for him, they were smiling and asking whether there was a banquet planned afterward.
But as Filatov spoke, their faces darkened as they became aware that they were expected to leave their positions as soon as the local communities submit new candidates.
Those who try to resist will regret it, the deputy governor promised.
“You know who we are, and you know that we can be merciless,” Filatov threatened.
In Dnipropetrovsk, it seems everyone knows him.
With his business partner Hennadiy Korban, appointed as Kolomoyskiy’s other deputy, Filatov owns some of Dnipropetrovsk’s best real estate, including a number of malls and office buildings in the heart of the city.
In his last tax declaration, Filatov said he declared some $3-$4 million – he couldn’t remember the exact sum. When asked about his salary as deputy governor, Filatov said he has “no idea” what he’ll be making.
Many in the city refer to Filatov and Korban as raiders who came to own their assets through illegal schemes. Filatov shrugs off those allegations when asked about them.
“It is true that we’ve always been on the very edge of corporative conflicts,” he admits. “But here’s what we’ve never done – we never hurt a weak one, we never pushed the one who was falling, and we never took state budget money.”
The businessman-turned-regional official spoke with the Kyiv Post in his bulletproof Mercedes on the way to his office as bodyguards in a Toyota jeep followed closely behind.
“The one who skimps on security will pay for it sooner or later,” Filatov says.
In 2012, Korban’s other business partner, Hennadiy Akselrod, was assassinated in Dnipropetrovsk. Another partner in the group, Vyacheslav Braginskiy, was killed in a planned gas explosion in 2009. There were two attempts on Korban’s life.
Just like Kolomoyskiy, this is Filatov’s first government position. He began his career as a lawyer with an interest in journalism. In 2010, he went on a trip through eight African countries and developed a TV film from the adventure. His flair for adventure has also led him to sign up for Virgin Galactics’ space tourism program (a ticket that cost him some $200,000). His flight is set for this fall.
For several years, Filatov produced and hosted an informational investigative show on local television. That experience has helped with his public speaking, he said.
But there are other challenges facing him in his new role. The main one he points out is switching from business practices to the world of government bureaucracy.
“Sometimes this system seems to be working only for itself,” Filatov says. “I can’t understand why my press department has five people doing media monitoring, while this is a job for one. Or why 15 lawyers in the legal department work on just two cases each, while the lawyers who work in my company handle ten times as many cases.”
For Filatov and his partners, the decision to take positions in public office originates from both patriotic intentions and business concerns.
“Our business will be worth nothing if these animals put our country down,” he says.
Filatov’s work to prevent bloodshed and separatism includes talking to “those who coordinate (the separatist movements) from abroad.” He doesn’t give names, but hints at Party of Regions member of parliament Oleh Tsaryov, elected in Dnipropetrovsk. Tsaryov has been a strong supporter of Russia and an opponent of EuroMaidan.
“We call them and warn them that one can’t spend his whole life hiding in Moscow. And when one comes back, one will be… expected,” Filatov says ominously.
“We were informed that Evraz (ironworks plant in Dnipropetrovsk) secretly sent buses with people to the Crimean referendum. We checked. It wasn’t true. We check dormitories and airports to prevent paid provocateurs coming to the city,” he says.
Just two months ago, Filatov was a refugee.
In January, when the EuroMaidan protests escalated and the standoff at Hrushevskoho Street began, Filatov ordered the mall he owns in central Dnipropetrovsk to replace commercials being played on its giant outdoor screen with broadcasts of Channel Five, EuroMaidan’s main chronicler. Soon after, the mall’s electricity was shut off and Filatov’s and Korban’s offices were raided by police. The businessmen left Ukraine and stayed in Israel until late February.
Broadcasting Channel Five wasn’t Filatov’s only pro-EuroMaidan initiative. The businessman claims he financed one of the Maidan’s sotnyas, or self-defense squads.
Kolomoyskiy’s team says within its first three months in power it would like to decrease corruption in the region, make local authorities more transparent and ensure that presidential elections in May are fair.
“In a way, we want to go down in history,” Filatov says.
Kyiv Post editor Olga Rudenko can be reached at [email protected].
