As President Volodymyr Zelensky is on his crusade to cleanse the government of the old elites, there is one person he never mentions. It’s Arsen Avakov, the interior minister. After ex-President Viktor Yanukovych was ousted on Feb. 22, 2014, by the EuroMaidan Revolution, Avakov was appointed as interior minister. He had a mandate to reform the Soviet-style police that helped Yanukovych usurp power and murder protesters.
More than five years later, Avakov is still on his job. Except for a few changes such as the new patrol force, Yanukovych’s corrupt police is still in place. Civic groups that took part in police reform efforts said in 2016 that Avakov had taken over vetting commissions and blocked the firing of tainted police officers.
Avakov’s police proved incapable of pursuing high-profile cases. It has failed to investigate about a hundred attacks on activists and journalists since 2014, including at least 12 murders. It doesn’t look like Avakov is interested in reforming or investigating. His interests appear to lie in a different area. Video footage recorded by the Security Service of Ukraine in 2014 implicates Avakov, his son, and his top allies in alleged corruption, which they denied. Avakov and his allies are also under investigation by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine.
The July 21 parliamentary election showed that the Ukrainians are sick and tired of the corrupt old guard. After the new parliament convenes, it will have a chance to oust Avakov. Keeping Avakov would be a sign that Zelensky is not serious about his promise to get rid of the old guard.
It would also be seen as a sign of oligarch Ihor Kolomoisky’s influence on Zelensky. Kolomoisky calls himself a friend of Avakov.
Avakov must go, and his alleged crimes must be investigated.
