Yuriy Fedorovych Kravchenko ( uk, Юрій Федорович Кравченко; March 5, 1951 – March 4, 2005) was a

Ukrainian Ukrainian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Ukraine * Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe * Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine * So ...

General of Internal Service and statesman, serving as the country's

Minister of Internal Affairs Minister may refer to: * Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric ** Minister (Catholic Church) * Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department) ** Minister without portfolio, a member of government w ...

(1995—2001). In 2000, while he was serving as the Minister of Internal Affairs, Kravchenko became directly involved in the murder case of

Georgiy Gongadze Georgiy Ruslanovych Gongadze ka, გიორგი რუსლანის ძე ღონღაძე, Giorgi Ruslanis dze Ghonghadze (21 May 1969 – 17 September 2000) was a Georgian-Ukrainian journalist and film director who was kidn ...

and the subsequent "

Cassette Scandal The Cassette Scandal ( uk, Касетний скандал, Russian: Кассетный скандал, also known as Tapegate or Kuchmagate) was a Ukrainian political scandal in November 2000 in which Ukrainian president Leonid Kuchma was caught ...

." Kravechenko later was the governor of the

Kherson Oblast Kherson Oblast ( uk, Херсо́нська о́бласть, translit=Khersónsʹka óblastʹ, ), also known as Khersonshchyna ( uk, Херсо́нщина, ), is an oblast (province) in southern Ukraine, currently claimed and partly occupied ...

(2001—2002) and Head of the State Tax Administration of Ukraine (2002—2003).

Biography

Born in

Oleksandriia Oleksandriia () is a city located in Oleksandriia Raion, Kirovohrad Oblast (region) in central Ukraine. Administratively, Oleksandriia serves as the administrative center of Oleksandriia Raion (district). Oleksandriia also hosts the administrat ...

Kirovohrad Oblast Kirovohrad Oblast ( uk, Кіровоградська область, translit=Kirovohradska oblast; also referred to as #Nomenclature, Kirovohradschyna — uk, Кіровоградщина) is an administrative divisions of Ukraine, oblast (prov ...

, Kravchenko attended the Oleksandriia Industrial Technical School from 1966 to 1970. In October 1970, he became an electrictian and worked in the

. Served in the

Soviet Army uk, Радянська армія , image = File:Communist star with golden border and red rims.svg , alt = , caption = Emblem of the Soviet Army , start_date ...

from 1970 to 1972. From 1974 until 1978, he studied at the Higher School of the MVD of the

USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

, and afterwards worked as a police inspector in the Kirovohrad Oblast. From 1981 to 1986, he worked in several supervisory positions. In April 1986, Kravchenko became the head of the department for combating drug trade in the Criminal Investigation Directorate of the MVD of the

Ukrainian SSR The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic ( uk, Украї́нська Радя́нська Соціалісти́чна Респу́бліка, ; russian: Украи́нская Сове́тская Социалисти́ческая Респ ...

. In September 1989, he became the head of the MVD regional directorate in the Kirovohrad Oblast.

Gongadze Case and Cassette Scandal

On 29 January 2013 a Ukrainian court ruled

Oleksiy Pukach Georgiy Ruslanovych Gongadze ka, გიორგი რუსლანის ძე ღონღაძე, Giorgi Ruslanis dze Ghonghadze (21 May 1969 – 17 September 2000) was a Georgian-Ukrainian journalist and film director who was kidn ...

had murdered the journalist

on orders from Kravchenko, who was seeking a career promotion.Court sentences Pukach to life for murdering Gongadze, disregards claims against Kuchma, Lytvyn

Kyiv Post The ''Kyiv Post'' is the oldest English-language newspaper in Ukraine, founded in October 1995 by Jed Sunden. History American Jed Sunden founded the ''Kyiv Post'' weekly newspaper on Oct. 18, 1995 and later created KP Media for his holdings. ...

(29 January 2013)Ukraine police officer accuses ex-president after being jailed for life

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency was estab ...

(29 January 2013)Gongadze killer pointed on Kuchma and Lytvyn
LIGABusinessInform. 2013-1-29

Death

Kravchenko was found dead in his apartment near

Kyiv Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...

on March 4, 2005. He was at that time called as a witness in the murder case of Gongadze. It was claimed that Kravchenko committed

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...

. Some news reports claim that he was shot twice in the head.Gongadze murder suspect's trial should be open to public

Committee to Protect Journalists The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is an American independent non-profit, non-governmental organization, based in New York City, New York, with correspondents around the world. CPJ promotes press freedom and defends the rights of journa ...

(August 16, 2011)

References

External links

*
''The Key Witness in the Gongadze Case Dead''
(March 2005 ''

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 ...

'' article on the death of Kravchenko, analysing also his role in Gongadze case - includes fragments of the Melnychenko recordings featuring Kravchenko) {{DEFAULTSORT:Kravchenko, Yuriy Generals of the Internal Service (Ukraine) 1951 births 2005 deaths Multiple gunshot suicides Suicides by firearm in Ukraine Interior ministers of Ukraine Ukrainian politicians who committed suicide People from Oleksandriia Recipients of the Order of Bohdan Khmelnytsky, 3rd class Governors of Kherson Oblast Burials at Baikove Cemetery

Biography

Gongadze Case and Cassette Scandal

Death

See also

References

External links