Education: law, Kyiv International University
Profession: Founder of UAnimals
Did you know? At school, he headed a one-day strike during which all pupils skipped classes to support the 2004 Orange Revolution, which denied Viktor Yanukovych the presidency because of a rigged presidential election. A revote on Dec. 26, 2004, put Viktor Yushchenko in power.
Oleksandr Todorchuk was born and raised in Kyiv. His leadership qualities started to show themselves in his school days, when he was a member of the school parliament and was later elected as its president. Todorchuk studied law at Kyiv International University, but once he graduated he realized that it really wasn’t his vocation.
Todorchuk then worked as a journalist at magazines Telegid and Hello, before launching the “Gres Todorchuk PR” public relations agency with his sister. Today the agency promotes cultural and social projects. Todorchuk improved his skills as a leader and a promoter, which would later prove useful when starting his animal welfare initiative, UAnimals.
Todorchuk quit eating meat four years ago.
“Meat is a murder, and I don’t want to be a part of that,” he told the Kyiv Post. He doesn’t buy fur or leather products, and believes that all creatures have the right to live, and not to suffer.
UAnimals started as a Facebook page back in 2016 to promote animal welfare and provide the public with information about the animal rights situation in Ukraine. The name of the initiative combines both a reference to Ukraine and an allusion to people being animals as well.
Later the initiative cooperated with the Molodiya social advertisement festival, which created a category for work that promoted circuses without animals. The advertisements nominated for the category were shown in cinemas all over Ukraine ahead of all movie screenings. The project became so popular that UAnimals and Molidiya arranged special screenings of the best works in Kyiv, Kharkiv, Odesa and Lviv.
Last spring, the initiative conducted its first rally in Kyiv. It gathered around 1,000 people who demanded a ban on the use of animals in circuses.
Half a year later, in fall, UAnimals arranged a nationwide rally for animal rights in 17 cities around the country. The rally attracted 5,000 people in Kyiv.
UAnimals is cooperating with Ukrainian lawmakers in order to develop animal rights legislation. One of the laws, which bans mobile circuses, zoos and exhibitions with wild animals, was passed by parliament in June and came into force in August.
Another important bill, which bans the exploitation of animals in any circuses, was submitted to parliament in October.
Todorchuk says the main power in the world is kindness. He says that the way people treat animals shows what they are really like.
“It’s easy to be kind to those who are strong. Try to be kind to those who are weak.”
