Yukhym Leonidovych Zvyahilsky ( uk, Юхим Леонідович Звягільський, russian: Ефим Леонидович Звягильский; 20 February 1933 – 6 November 2021) was a Ukrainian politician. He is the only member of

Verkhovna Rada The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine ( uk, Верхо́вна Ра́да Украї́ни, translit=, Verkhovna Rada Ukrainy, translation=Supreme Council of Ukraine, Ukrainian abbreviation ''ВРУ''), often simply Verkhovna Rada or just Rada, is the ...

who was elected to parliament in eight elections (from

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...

until Zvyahilsky did not participate in the

2019 Ukrainian parliamentary election Snap elections to the Ukrainian parliament were held on 21 July 2019. Originally scheduled to be held at the end of October, these elections were brought forward after newly inaugurated President of Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy dissolv ...

). In 1993 and 1994, Zvyahilsky served as the First Vice-Prime Minister and acting

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Biography

Zvyahilsky was born the son of a

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

civil servant in

Stalino Donetsk ( , ; uk, Донецьк, translit=Donets'k ; russian: Донецк ), formerly known as Aleksandrovka, Yuzivka (or Hughesovka), Stalin and Stalino (see also: cities' alternative names), is an industrial city in eastern Ukraine loca ...

on 20 February 1933. In 1956, he graduated from the Donetsk Industrial Institute as a mining engineer. After graduating, Zvyahilsky worked at mine #13 of the Soviet

trust company A trust company is a corporation that acts as a fiduciary, trustee or agent of trusts and agencies. A professional trust company may be independently owned or owned by, for example, a bank or a law firm, and which specializes in being a trust ...

"Kuibyshevugol" (Kuibyshev Coal) as a chief assistant, later as a chief of a

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when dea ...

precinct, chief engineer, and director. In 1972 he wrote a thesis, "Observation of regional technological schemes of mining fields in the development of thin inclined layers (in reference to the Donetsk-Makiivka region of Donetsk basin)" (

Moscow Mining Institute Moscow State Mining University (''Московский государственный горный университет'' in Russia) is a Russian institute of higher education that prepares mining engineers. History Its history can be traced b ...

), earning him the academical title of a

Candidate of Sciences Candidate of Sciences (russian: кандидат наук, translit=kandidat nauk) is the first of two doctoral level scientific degrees in Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States. It is formally classified as UNESCO's ISCED level 8, "do ...

. Later Zvyahilsky defended his doctorate on the subject "Geomechanical foundations of landslides of the earth surface above mines, which can be eliminated" (Institute of geotechnical mechanics of the

National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine The National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (NASU; uk, Національна академія наук України, ''Natsional’na akademiya nauk Ukrayiny'', abbr: NAN Ukraine) is a self-governing state-funded organization in Ukraine th ...

). Coincidentally, in the early 1990s, Ukraine suffered from the miners' strikes that led to the early presidential elections in 1994. From 1970 to 1979, Zvyahilsky worked at the Kuibyshev Mine Corporation of the Industrial Union "Donetskugol" (Donetsk Coal). In 1975 he was appointed a director of the company. From 1979 through 1992, Zvyahilsky was a director of the

Zasyadko coal mine Zasyadko Mine ( uk, Шахта ім. Засядька, russian: Шахта им. А. Ф. Засядько) is a coal mining company in Ukraine's eastern city of Donetsk. Following the start of the War in Donbass in 2014 the mine became situated ...

of the Industrial Union "Donetskugol". The mine, known for its chronic accidents, became particularly famous in 2007 for the most deadly

disaster A disaster is a serious problem occurring over a short or long period of time that causes widespread human, material, economic or environmental loss which exceeds the ability of the affected community or society to cope using its own resources ...

in the mining history of Ukraine. In March 1990, as a member of the

Communist Party of the Soviet Union "Hymn of the Bolshevik Party" , headquarters = 4 Staraya Square, Moscow , general_secretary = Vladimir Lenin (first) Mikhail Gorbachev (last) , founded = , banned = , founder = Vladimir Lenin , newspaper ...

, Zvyahilsky was elected to the

Parliament of Ukraine The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine ( uk, Верхо́вна Ра́да Украї́ни, translit=, Verkhovna Rada Ukrainy, translation=Supreme Council of Ukraine, Ukrainian abbreviation ''ВРУ''), often simply Verkhovna Rada or just Rada, is the ...

from the 112th electoral district. In November 1992, he was appointed the city council and executive committee chairman. In June 1993, Zvyahilsky was appointed to the Kuchma's Cabinet as the First Vice-Prime Minister. Being the First Vice-Prime Minister in the Cabinet of Kuchma, he served as an acting-Prime Minister from 22 September 1993 after

Leonid Kuchma Leonid Danylovych Kuchma ( uk, Леоні́д Дани́лович Ку́чма; born 9 August 1938) is a Ukrainian politician who was the second president of Ukraine from 19 July 1994 to 23 January 2005. Kuchma's presidency saw numerous corrup ...

was elected the

President of Ukraine The president of Ukraine ( uk, Президент України, Prezydent Ukrainy) is the head of state of Ukraine. The president represents the nation in international relations, administers the foreign political activity of the state, condu ...

. Zvyahilsky was the longest-serving Prime Minister without being officially appointed to the role. Zvyahilsky kept the appointment until

Vitaliy Masol Vitaliy Andriyovych Masol ( uk, Віталій Андрійович Масол; 14 November 1928 – 21 September 2018) was a Soviet-Ukrainian politician who served as leader of Ukraine on two occasions. He held various posts in the Ukrainian So ...

was confirmed as the

Prime Minister of Ukraine The prime minister of Ukraine ( uk, Прем'єр-міністр України, ) is the head of government of Ukraine. The prime minister presides over the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, which is the highest body of the executive branch of th ...

in June 1994. In March 1994, now as an independent, Zvyahilsky was elected to the parliament from the 110th electoral district. In 1994, Zviahilskyi, being perceived as affiliated with

Leonid Kravchuk Leonid Makarovych Kravchuk ( uk, Леонід Макарович Кравчук; 10 January 1934 – 10 May 2022) was a Ukrainian politician and the first president of Ukraine, serving from 5 December 1991 until 19 July 1994. In 1992, he signed ...

, was accused of having stolen some $20 million by Ukrainian President Kuchma during his term as acting Prime Minister, and he fled to

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

in fear for his life. Zvyagilsky was also accused of transporting $300 million in illegal cash to Israel in 1994 with the help of the Israeli special service Nativ. After some time Zviahilskyi returned to Ukraine in March 1997 and as a sitting member of

missed most of the sessions of the parliament.The clan from Donetsk PART I
,

The Ukrainian Weekly ''The Ukrainian Weekly'' is the oldest English-language newspaper of the Ukrainian diaspora in the United States, and North America. Founded by the Ukrainian National Association, and published continuously since October 6, 1933, archived copies ...

(12 January 2003) In 1998, Zvyahilsky, once again as an independent, was elected now from the 43rd electoral district. In 2002, he was again elected to the parliament as a member of the

Party of Regions The Party of Regions ( uk, Партія регіонів, Partiia rehioniv, ; russian: Партия регионов, Partiya regionov) was a pro-Russian political party in Ukraine formed in late 1997 that then grew to be the biggest party of Uk ...

. Zvyahilsky became a member of the Verkhovna Rada (parliament), representing the ruling Party of Regions, and owner of the Zasyadko coal mine in

Donetsk Donetsk ( , ; uk, Донецьк, translit=Donets'k ; russian: Донецк ), formerly known as Aleksandrovka, Yuzivka (or Hughesovka), Stalin and Stalino (see also: Names of European cities in different languages (C–D), cities' alternat ...

. Being a member of Parliament, he had immunity from prosecution. In the 2012 parliamentary elections elected for the Party of Regions in a single-mandate majoritarian election district number 45 with 72.59% of the votes. In the 2014 parliamentary election, Zvyahilsky was re-elected into parliament again as an independent candidate in single-member districts number 45 situated in the Kyiv Raion of Donetsk; this time with 72.73% of the votes. In his constituency, only a handful of polling stations were open due to the

War in Donbas War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

; this led to Zvyahilsky winning a seat with only 1,450 votes.Starting a New Life, Voting as Before

The Ukrainian Week ''The Ukrainian Week'' ( uk, Український Тиждень, translit=Ukrainskyi Tyzhden) is an illustrated weekly magazine covering politics, economics and the arts and aimed at the socially engaged Ukrainian-language reader. It provides ...

(11 November 2014) In parliament he joined the faction of

Opposition Bloc russian: Оппозиционный блок , colorcode = , logo = Opposition Bloc.png , logo_size = 240px , leader1_title = Chairman , leader1_name = Rinat Akhmetov (one wing)Dmytro Firtash & Yuriy Boyko ( ...

. Zvyahilsky did not participate in the

for the first time since 1990 he did not run for parliamentary elections. He died on 6 November 2021, aged 88, from complications of

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

during the

COVID-19 pandemic in Ukraine The COVID-19 pandemic in Ukraine has resulted in confirmed cases of COVID-19 and deaths. The virus was confirmed to have spread to Ukraine when the country's first case was confirmed to be hospitalized in Chernivtsi Oblast on 3 March 2020, a ...

.People's Deputy of many convocations Yuhym Zviahilskyi died

Ukrayinska Pravda ''Ukrainska Pravda'' ( uk, Українська правда, lit=Ukrainian Truth) is a Ukrainian online newspaper founded by Georgiy Gongadze on 16 April 2000 (the day of the Ukrainian constitutional referendum). Published mainly in Ukraini ...

(6 November 2021). He also was co-president of the Jewish Conference of Ukraine.

Awards

Jubilee Medal "In Commemoration of the 100th Anniversary of the Birth of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin" The Jubilee Medal "In Commemoration of the 100th Anniversary of the Birth of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin" (russian: link=no, Юбилейная медаль В ознаменование 100-летия со дня рождения Владимира И ...

(1970) *

Order of the Red Banner of Labour The Order of the Red Banner of Labour (russian: Орден Трудового Красного Знамени, translit=Orden Trudovogo Krasnogo Znameni) was an order of the Soviet Union established to honour great deeds and services to th ...

(1971) * Distinguished Miner of Ukraine (1979) *

Order of the October Revolution The Order of the October Revolution (russian: Орден Октябрьской Революции, ''Orden Oktyabr'skoy Revolyutsii'') was instituted on October 31, 1967, in time for the 50th anniversary of the October Revolution. It was conferr ...

(1981) *

Hero of Socialist Labour The Hero of Socialist Labour (russian: links=no, Герой Социалистического Труда, Geroy Sotsialisticheskogo Truda) was an honorific title in the Soviet Union and other Warsaw Pact countries from 1938 to 1991. It repre ...

(1986) * Honorary citizen of Donetsk (1998) * State Prize of Ukraine in the field of science and technology (2002) *

Hero of Ukraine Hero of Ukraine (HOU; uk, Герой України, ''Heroi Ukrainy'') is the highest national title that can be conferred upon an individual citizen by the President of Ukraine. The title was created in 1998 by President Leonid Kuchma and as ...

(2003) *

Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise The Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise ( uk, Орден князя Ярослава Мудрого) is an award of Ukraine. It is awarded for distinguished services to the state and people of the Ukrainian nation in the field of state building, ...

, 5th class (2009) * Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise, 4th class (2013)

References

External links

Biography

Awards

See also

References

External links