Oleg Anatolyevich Tsaryov (russian: Олег Анатольевич Царёв; uk, Олег Анатолійович Царьов, Oleh Anatioliyovych Tsarov; born 2 June 1970) is a Ukrainian businessman, politician and former separatist official in

eastern Ukraine Eastern Ukraine or east Ukraine ( uk, Східна Україна, Skhidna Ukrayina; russian: Восточная Украина, Vostochnaya Ukraina) is primarily the territory of Ukraine east of the Dnipro (or Dnieper) river, particularly Khar ...

. Tsaryov is a former

People's Deputy of Ukraine People's, branded as ''People's Viennaline'' until May 2018, and legally ''Altenrhein Luftfahrt GmbH'', is an Austrian airline headquartered in Vienna. It operates scheduled and charter passenger flights mainly from its base at St. Gallen-Alten ...

elected for 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 U ...

who was expelled from the party on 7 April 2014. On 26 July 2014, he became the speaker of the Parliament of

Novorossiya Novorossiya, literally "New Russia", is a historical name, used during the era of the Russian Empire for an administrative area that would later become the southern mainland of Ukraine: the region immediately north of the Black Sea and Crimea. ...

, a confederation that includes the separatist

Donetsk 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 ...

and Luhansk People's Republics, and served until its dissolution on 18 May 2015. He has been wanted by Ukrainian police since June 2014 for promoting separatism and violence.

Biography

Early life

Tsaryov was born 2 June 1970 in Dnipropetrovsk (now Dnipro), in the

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

of the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

.Short bio
LIGA Tsaryov graduated from the Moscow Engineering Physics Institute in 1992 with a degree in engineering and physics.

Business career

Tsaryov started his career in 1992 as an engineer for the preparation of production at "Avteks" (Автекс), a specialized small business in Dnipropetrovsk. Then in 1993 he became head of the Ukrainian financial insurance company "Confidence" (Доверие). After leaving Confidence in 1995, he held a succession of senior positions at the Dnipropetrovsk Computer Centre Ltd (Днепропетровский компьютерный центр), a company called Silicon Valley (Кремниевая долина), and then the Dnipropetrovsk Paper Mill (Днепропетровская бумажная фабрика). His company "Dniprobuminvest" went bankrupt in March 2014.

Election to national parliament

Tsaryov became a People's Deputy of Ukraine (народний депутат України) in the

2002 Ukrainian parliamentary election Parliamentary elections were held in Ukraine on 31 March 2002. Nohlen, D & Stöver, P (2010) ''Elections in Europe: A data handbook'', p1976 The Our Ukraine bloc emerged as the largest faction in the Verkhovna Rada, winning 111 of the 447 sea ...

. He was elected in single mandate district number 40 located in

Krynychky Krynytchky ( uk, Кринички; russian: Кринички) is an urban-type settlement in Kamianske Raion, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, Ukraine. It hosts the administration of Krynychky settlement hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. Population: ...

with 30.26% of the vote.Electoral history of Oleh Tsaryov

Civil movement "Chesno" Chesno ( uk, Чесно, lit=honestly, fairly) is a Ukrainian public campaign that emerged late 2011 to advance a fair election process. It is widely known for its critical analysis and evaluation of politicians and the Verkhovna Rada (parliame ...

In parliament he became a member of the faction

United Ukraine United Ukraine ( uk, Єдина Україна) was a political party in Ukraine. History The party was founded in 1998 as Party of Educators of Ukraine ( uk, Партія Освітян України); it was officially registered as a party on ...

and he later joined the

.District №40: The place of power of the father of corruption Lazarenko and the rigid separatist Tsarev
Depo.ua (21 September 2018) In 2005 Tsaryov became head of the Dnipropetrovsk regional branch of Party of Regions. In the

2006 Ukrainian parliamentary election 6 (six) is the natural number following 5 and preceding 7. It is a composite number and the smallest perfect number. In mathematics Six is the smallest positive integer which is neither a square number nor a prime number; it is the second small ...

Tsaryov was re-elected to parliament as number 35 on the election list of Party of Regions.Small biography of Oleh Tsayrov

RBK Ukraine The RBC Group, or RosBiznesConsulting (russian: Группа компаний «РБК» РБК, РосБизнесКонсалтинг), is a Russian media group headquartered in Moscow. It was established in 1993. The company holds an infor ...

(2007) And again on the same list but now placed 114th in the

2007 Ukrainian parliamentary election Early parliamentary elections in Ukraine took place on 30 September 2007. The date of the election was determined following agreement between the President Viktor Yushchenko, the Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych and the Chairman of the Verkhovna ...

. In the

2012 Ukrainian parliamentary election The Ukrainian parliamentary election of 2012 took place on 28 October 2012.Election of Verkhovna Rada 2019 District 40 Dniprovska oblast
UKR.VOTE He was elected with 45.08% of the vote. Tsaryov was one of the most ardent supporters a violent dispersal of the (2013–2014) Euromaidan protest. He called these protesters "terrorists, bandits and extremists."

2014 pro-Russian unrest in Ukraine

Tsaryov was a self-nominated candidate in the 2014 Ukrainian presidential election.Twenty-three candidates to run for Ukraine's presidency
Interfax-Ukraine (3 April 2014) On 29 March a Party of Regions convention supported

Mykhailo Dobkin Mykhailo Markovych Dobkinrussian: Михаил Маркович Добкин, translit=Mikhail Markovich Dobkin (born 26 January 1970) is a Ukrainian politician, former governor of Kharkiv Oblast, former mayor of Kharkiv,

nomination as a presidential candidate. On 7 April 2014 the political council of that party expelled Tsaryov from the party. On 11 April 2014 Tsaryov travelled to

and said he was ready to become a leader of the so-called "South-east movement". According to one source quoted by the National Press Agency of Ukraine, Tsaryov also assured separatists in Donetsk that would do everything to disrupt the May 25, 2014 presidential elections. "I'm sure that will be no elections," he said. He then promised that he would create a "central authority" within the center of Donetsk. On 14 April, Oleg Tsaryov was beaten by a mob after an interview in the ICTV building in Kyiv. The beating was denied by some,Ukraine's Pro-Russian Candidate Quits Presidential Race
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (29 April 2014) though press agencies published videos of the mob and photos of Oleg Tsaryov half-naked with bruises. After this beating he stated "I am against a third party interfering in the affairs of Ukraine. Until we learn to listen to each other, Ukraine will stand no chance". At the time

opinion polls An opinion poll, often simply referred to as a survey or a poll (although strictly a poll is an actual election) is a human research survey of public opinion from a particular sample. Opinion polls are usually designed to represent the opinions ...

showed Tsaryov had a rating lower than the sociological error. Tsaryov withdrew his presidential candidacy on 29 April. He claimed to so because it was dangerous for him to continue his presidential campaign and meet with voters in

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

(earlier that month Tsaryov said he had been beaten by pro-Western radical Ukrainian activists in Kyiv). Tsaryov called on "all presidential candidates representing Ukraine's

eastern Eastern may refer to: Transportation *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai *Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways *Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991 *Eastern Air Li ...

and southeastern regions" (namely)

Petro Symonenko Petro Mykolayovych Symonenko ( uk, Петро́ Микола́йович Симоне́нко; born 1 August 1952) is a Ukrainian politician and the First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine. Symonenko was the Co ...

, Serhiy Tihipko and Renat Kuzmin to boycott the election; because "An election that is being held while a

civil war A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

is unfolding must be boycotted". He added that if they did not withdrew they would be "playing into the hands of the illegitimate authorities and legitimizing not only them but also their decision to start a civil war against the eastern regions".Ukrainian presidential candidate Tsariov withdraws from race
Interfax-Ukraine (29 April 2014) After the elections Tsaryov refused to recognize the election as legitimate; as he claimed "it was a choice only of half of Ukraine".

Separatism

On 13 May 2014 Tsaryov was sanctioned by the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...

for calling for the creation of

Federal State of Novorossiya Novorossiya or New Russia (russian: Новороссия, ; uk, Новоросія, Novorosiia, ovoroˈsijɐ, also referred to as the Union of People's Republics ( rus, Союз народных республик, Soyuz narodnykh respubli ...

. Also in May 2014, a recording of a death threat phone call allegedly made to Tsaryov by the governor of

Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Dnipropetrovsk Oblast ( uk, Дніпропетро́вська о́бласть, translit=Dnipropetrovska oblast), also referred to as Dnipropetrovshchyna ( uk, Дніпропетро́вщина), is an oblast (province) of central-eastern Ukra ...

and owner of PrivatBank,

Ihor Kolomoyskyi Ihor Valeriyovych Kolomoyskyi ( uk, Ігор Валерійович Коломойський, translit=Ihor Valereriyovych Kolomoyskyi; he, איגור קולומויסקי; born 13 February 1963) is a Ukrainian-born billionaire, business magnat ...

, began circulating in social media. In the call, Kolomoyskyi told Tsaryov that there was a bounty of $1 million on his head, and to stay in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...

if he did not want to be killed. Tsaryov said that the call was authentic. On 3 June 2014 Tsaryov was stripped of his parliamentary immunity by the

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 ...

(Ukraine's parliament) who also sanctioned his arrest. Tsaryov is now wanted for making "public calls to overthrow the existing constitutional system in Ukraine, change its state borders and stage acts of disobedience, which entailed grave consequences and caused many casualties among law enforcers and peaceful civilians". On 26 June 2014 Tsaryov became Speaker of the "Unity Parliament" of the

self-proclaimed Self-proclaimed describes a legal title that is recognized by the declaring person but not necessarily by any recognized legal authority. It can be the status of a noble title or the status of a nation. The term is used informally for anyone declari ...

confederation A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a union of sovereign groups or states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

of Donetsk People's Republic and

Luhansk People's Republic The Luhansk or Lugansk People's Republic (russian: Луга́нская Наро́дная Респу́блика, Luganskaya Narodnaya Respublika, ; abbreviated as LPR or LNR, rus, ЛНР) is a disputed entity created by Russian-backed ...

(in

)

. Russian prosecutors refuse to extradite Tsaryov to Ukraine and (according to Ukraine falsely) state that they have not received such a request from Ukraine. On 20 May 2015 Tsaryov announced the termination of the Novorossiya confederation. He stated this was done because the confederation did not comply with the

Minsk II The Minsk agreements were a series of international agreements which sought to end the Donbas war fought between armed Russian separatist groups and Armed Forces of Ukraine, with Russian regular forces playing a central part. The first, know ...

accords. In 2018 Ukrainian media suspected that Tsaryov was living in

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

, probably in Russian annexed

Crimea Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a pop ...

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine

On 24 February 2022,

Russian President The president of the Russian Federation ( rus, Президент Российской Федерации, Prezident Rossiyskoy Federatsii) is the head of state of the Russian Federation. The president leads the executive branch of the federal ...

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...

announced that

was conducting a "special military operation in Donbas"; this announcement was followed by a large scale Russian invasion of Ukraine. The United States intelligence community named Tsaryov as a possible Kremlin supported choice to lead a pro-Russian puppet Ukrainian government. On the (first) morning of the invasion Tsaryov declared "as promised, the denazification operation has begun." He also claimed he was "already in Ukraine" and that "

will be liberated from the

Nazis Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in N ...

." On 15 March 2022 Russian channel RT released an interview with Tsaryov in which he claimed he was in Ukraine and providing humanitarian aid to Ukrainian territory under control of Russian troops. On 20 March 2022, Tsaryov called on the acting mayor of

Kryvyi Rih Kryvyi Rih ( uk, Криви́й Ріг , lit. "Curved Bend" or "Crooked Horn"), also known as Krivoy Rog (Russian: Кривой Рог) is the largest city in central Ukraine, the 7th most populous city in Ukraine and the 2nd largest by area. K ...

Oleksandr Vilkul Oleksandr Yuriyovych Vilkul ( uk, Олексaндр Юрійович Вiлкул; born 24 May 1974), also known as Aleksandr Yuryevich Vilkul (russian: Александр Юрьевич Вилкул) is a Ukrainian businessman and politician wh ...

(while claiming "his" Russian troops "are now near Kryvyi Rih") to surrender the city to Russian troops.
Tsaryov addressed Vikul as "used to be my fellow party members" and claimed that Vikul had "always taken a

pro-Russian Russophilia (literally love of Russia or Russians) is admiration and fondness of Russia (including the era of the Soviet Union and/or the Russian Empire), Russian history and Russian culture. The antonym is Russophobia. In the 19th Century, ...

stance". On

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin Mosk ...

Vikul answered Tsaryov: "Fuck you, traitor, along with your masters!". On 24 March 2022, Tsaryov announced Russia's decision to "create military-civilian administrations in the occupied territories, which will assume all the power of authority" and added that "this krainehas always been and will be Russian land and we are restoring sovereignty over this land." On 2 April 2022 Russian forces gave up its attempts to gain control over Kyiv, and thus the possibility for creating a puppet Ukrainian government, when it abandoned its Kyiv offensive. After the visit of

Boris Johnson Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (; born 19 June 1964) is a British politician, writer and journalist who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He previously served as F ...

to Kyiv on April 10, Tsaryov suggested shooting down airplanes with foreign politicians.

Family life

Tsaryov is married to Larissa (born in 1968) and has a daughter (born in 1999) and son (born in 1995), who both study in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. He has another daughter, born in 2003. In December 2022 Tsaryov's brother Mykhailo was convicted for "terrorism" after being accused of preparing a series of explosions at strategically important objects in

for an alleged promise to appoint him

Governor of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast The Governor of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast is the Chief of Local State Administration (Ukraine), head of executive branch for the Dnipropetrovsk Oblast. The office of Governor is an appointed position, with officeholders being appointed by the Preside ...

if the province would be occupied by

Political views

In his election program for the

2012 Ukrainian parliamentary election The Ukrainian parliamentary election of 2012 took place on 28 October 2012.Kyiv Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the seventh-most populous city in Europe. Kyi ...

in 2004 against the "

orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower *Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum * ...

" disorder. I fought against fascists and nationalists of all stripes. I have always advocated Ukraine's non-aligned status, I am opposed to joining NATO. I stand for friendship with Russia, the Russian language and our great history - the story of

Zhukov Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov ( rus, Георгий Константинович Жуков, p=ɡʲɪˈorɡʲɪj kənstɐnʲˈtʲinəvʲɪtɕ ˈʐukəf, a=Ru-Георгий_Константинович_Жуков.ogg; 1 December 1896 – ...

and Gagarin…" In March 2022 Tsaryov claimed that "this krainehas always been and will be Russian land and we are restoring sovereignty over this land." As a People's Deputy of Ukraine of the

Tsaryov was known as one of the party's members most against closer relations between Ukraine and the

. Tsaryov was one of the most ardent supporters a violent dispersal of the (2013–2014) Euromaidan. He called these protesters "terrorists, bandits and extremists." On 9 December 2013 Tsaryov requested to the Security Service and Foreign Ministry of Ukraine to deport or/and ban foreign organizers and political consultants of the Euromaidan protests, document scans of which he posted (and later removed) on his Facebook account. Among those named in the document notably included

Andreas Umland Andreas Umland (born 1967) is a political scientist studying contemporary Russian and Ukrainian history as well as regime transitions. He has published on the post-Soviet extreme right, municipal decentralization, European fascism, post-communis ...

, Stanislav Belkovsky,

Taras Kuzio Taras Kuzio (born 1958) is a British academic and expert in Ukrainian political, economic and security affairs. He is Professor of Political Science at National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy ( Kyiv, Ukraine). Education Taras Kuzio received a ...

Gleb Pavlovsky Gleb Olegovich Pavlovsky (russian: Глеб Оле́гович Павло́вский; born 5 March 1951) is a Russian political scientist who also describes himself as a "political technologist". During the Soviet era, he was prosecuted as a d ...

, and former

Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...

president

Mikheil Saakashvili Mikheil Saakashvili ( ka, მიხეილ სააკაშვილი ; uk, Міхеіл Саакашвілі ; born 21 December 1967) is a Georgian and Ukrainian politician and jurist.

, among others. Tsaryov was pleased with the so-called '' anti-protest laws'' adopted in January 2014, stating that it was good that these laws made

non-governmental organization A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see American and British English spelling differences#-ise, -ize (-isation, -ization), spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from g ...

s that accept foreign funds register as "

foreign agent A foreign agent is any person or entity actively carrying out the interests of a foreign country while located in another host country, generally outside the protections offered to those working in their official capacity for a diplomatic missio ...

s" because such funds only benefited the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

.Tsarev: I like the country more and more

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 Ukrai ...

(January 17, 2014).

Notes

References

External links

Oleg Tsaryov official TwitterOleg Tsaryov official Facebook
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tsaryov, Oleg 1970 births Living people Businesspeople from Dnipro Politicians from Dnipro Party of Regions politicians Fourth convocation members of the Verkhovna Rada Fifth convocation members of the Verkhovna Rada Sixth convocation members of the Verkhovna Rada Seventh convocation members of the Verkhovna Rada Pro-government people of the Euromaidan Candidates in the 2014 Ukrainian presidential election Pro-Russian people of the 2014 pro-Russian unrest in Ukraine Moscow Engineering Physics Institute alumni Russian individuals subject to the European Union sanctions Recipients of the Honorary Diploma of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine Individuals designated as terrorist by the government of Ukraine Ukrainian collaborators with Russia Fugitives wanted by Ukraine Russians in Ukraine Russian nationalists