The new governor's desire to control everything and everyone, guided by double standards, did not go unnoticed, and in the newspaper "Volyn" there appeared an article by editor-in-chief Stepan Sachuk titled "A truthful word against hypocrisy and falsehood." And so the hour has come for Anatoliy Yosypovych to take the second envelope from the desk and begin, as it prescribed, to change the cadres.

The Ternopil Fellowship

In the times of the unforgettable leader and also writer Leonid Ilyich, the forge of cadres for the entire Union was Dnipropetrovsk Oblast. In Ukraine, of course, the scale is not the same, but it turns out that Ternopil Oblast, with a little support from neighbors from Lviv and Rivne oblasts, can also quite lay claim to this worthy title. The first to occupy the office of the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Directorate in the oblast in mid-July, that is, a month after A. Frantsuz's appointment, was Oleksandr Spravedlyvyi, who had previously worked as head of the Pechersk district police directorate in Kyiv. Naturally, a native of Ternopil. After serving not long in Volyn, he vacated the chair for Oleksandr Kmyt, also a Ternopil native. Volodymyr Tomchyshyn, who before his new position headed the economic department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Directorate in Ternopil Oblast, where he is from, was summoned to head the workers of the oblast State Traffic Inspectorate. Apparently he did not cope with his duties ("Viche," No. 46, 13.11.2003), and exactly a year later he was replaced by Yuriy Dankov.

The drastic reshuffles affected not only the employees of the internal affairs bodies but also the apparatus of the state administration. The deputies of the former governor, some of their own will and some not quite, were forced to leave. The first deputy became Volodymyr Panchyshyn, who had previously worked in the Lviv Oblast State Administration; in an interview with the newspaper "Viche" No. 8 of 20.02.03 he said: "My colleague Anatoliy Yosypovych and I worked together in the Zboriv district of Ternopil Oblast. That was more than a quarter of a century ago..." But, as is known, old friendship does not rust. The chief ideologue became Stepan Rodych, chairman of the Rivne Oblast organization of the National Union of Journalists, a member of the board of the NUJU. Less important positions were taken by people from Volyn.

Practically all the heads of the leading directorates and departments were also replaced. True, in most cases by the method of reshuffling. For the most important areas of work, say, for the positions of heads of departments on communal property and interaction with law enforcement agencies, Yaroslav Andruntsiv, a native of Ternopil Oblast, and Valeriy Hudyma, a Ministry of Internal Affairs pensioner, were invited from Lviv.

The governor's powers are quite broad and allow him to select a team capable of solving the assigned problems, but the predominance of invited workers in key positions in the oblast, and moreover ones who loudly proclaimed themselves highly professional specialists, caused a reaction of distrust among the population, and then rejection. As did the Ternopil origin of the majority, and the fact that Oleksandr Kmyt worked together with Anatoliy Frantsuz in Ivano-Frankivsk and in Rivne, that Volodymyr Panchyshyn and Stepan Rodych are fellow countrymen from Lviv, that the former head of the SBU in the oblast Viktor Kozlov also came to Volyn from Rivne, that the new head of the Lutsk militia Mykola Hatanyuk is also from the neighboring oblast center. Many new employees of the oblast state administration are former militiamen.

Unfortunately, all these personnel changes were not reinforced by qualitative changes in the oblast's economy and in no way influenced the improvement of people's lives. As a result, not grasping the connection between cadres and the improvement of well-being, the Volynians directly linked them to a purely opportunistic selection of executors, when they were guided not by their professional suitability but proceeded from the principle of personal loyalty to the leader.

Desired Does Not Mean Actual

At first glance, things in the oblast's economy are going well. Production growth compared to last year was 22.2%, and by this indicator the region ranks 7th in the country. Production volumes increased in almost all types of industrial activity, as well as in all cities of oblast significance and in 11 of 16 districts. And what of the fact that, for example, Kamin-Kashyrskyi district, formerly famous for its harvests of flax and potatoes, for animal husbandry and the wood-processing industry, produced last year goods worth only... 122 thousand hryvnias, while Kovel district allowed a production decline of 32%. There are no particular problems in agriculture either. All indicators are with a plus sign, except... the critical situation with the number of cattle and the decrease in the production of milk and grain. The latter was harvested at 560 thousand tons, which under the conditions of such an unfavorable year is not bad at all. True, of these, 307 thousand tons (!) came from personal household plots. One asks: what then remains for the agricultural enterprises and farmers? No one will dare call this grain marketable, knowing by what methods the needed indicators were squeezed out of the heads of village councils. This grain is more virtual than real. Volyn provided itself with grain, but our newspaper has already written about how this was done in the material "Variations on the Theme of Presidential Decrees" ("2000," No. 44 (194) of October 31 – November 6, 2003).

Things are no worse in the sphere of foreign trade and construction. Incomes of the population have risen, its purchasing power has increased, and wage arrears have decreased by almost a third. Payments for housing and communal services are also at the proper level, though debts for the latter still amount to almost 68 million hryvnias. Against the generally quite favorable picture, sales of dairy products fell by 17%, and there are more unemployed — 4.9% versus 4.6% at the beginning of 2003. The significant growth in capital investments was largely achieved thanks not so much to the efforts of the local authorities as personally to the Minister of Transport Heorhiy Kirpa, by whose order the railway section Kivertsi–Lutsk was electrified and construction began on the road from the international checkpoint Yahodyn deep into Volyn.

An impartial analysis is provided in the Comprehensive Assessment of the Dynamics of Economic and Social Development of the Regions for 2001–2002 and the first half of 2003, which is prepared by the Main Directorate for Economic Policy of the Presidential Administration. And here a somewhat different picture emerges. 2001 and 4 months of 2002 — first position, the first half of 2002 — fourth, and for the first half of 2003 — 13th. And the most disheartening thing for Volyn is that in terms of industrial development rates the oblast is beginning to noticeably lag behind its neighbors — Rivne, Ternopil, and Zakarpattia oblasts. If a neighbor moves faster, it means Volyn is developing more slowly.

Industry is growing at decent rates, significantly outpacing the average Ukrainian indicator. But a strange thing: the 22.2% growth did not have a positive effect on the execution of the oblast budget, which barely reached 100%. This is explained quite simply: practically all the growth was achieved through so-called secondary processing of raw materials. In this case, 20 thousand tons of raw sugar at the Hnidavsky plant and the production of 138 thousand tons of sugar from sugar cane syrup at the Volodymyr-Volynsky sugar plants. That is hundreds of millions of hryvnias, but thanks to purely tolling schemes practically nothing went into the state treasury, and local budgets received only the personal income tax. The food processing industry accounts for 57% of all volumes and, along with woodworking and machine building, is decisive. If one subtracts this tolling sugar, then quite probably a decline in gross indicators will be noted in the food industry. January of this year also turned out to be disheartening for the leadership of the economic bloc of the oblast state administration. Of the 429 budgets of all levels, 19% failed to meet planned indicators; the Volyn and Yahodyn customs offices also failed to cope with the plan.

An administrative reform is brewing, and consequently it is far from unimportant for the oblast leaders what the region's rating is and how prepared it is to claim a key role in the consolidation. The projects for electrifying the railway sections Kovel–Ustyluh and Kovel–Yahodyn are not being implemented. And after all, Volyn is not the only gateway of Ukraine to the West. The Lutsk airport has still not come to life, and the question of reconstructing the station building at Lutsk station has not been resolved. And no one is bothered that one of the most transit oblasts in Ukraine today is one of the poorest. Construction of mine No. 10 and the flexographic factory in Novovolynsk is proceeding at unsatisfactory rates; the state administration has also forgotten about the Cabinet of Ministers resolution of March 26, 2001, "On the Construction of a Pulp and Paper Mill in Volyn Oblast." The construction of these facilities would allow the unemployment problem in the region to be largely resolved.

Private business is waiting. Over the past two years not a single new, even somewhat noticeable, production facility has appeared in Volyn, not a single new trademark. However, about a dozen notable firms have changed their place of registration. A very alarming trend. In the oblast state administration, meanwhile, all is calm and all is well, as in the well-known song. And the invited specialists have no end of priority concerns. And above all — housing construction.

The Unmercenaries

In an interview with the newspaper "Viche" (No. 8 of 20.02.2003), first deputy head of the oblast state administration Volodymyr Panchyshyn said: "It is very painful for me when I encounter the enormous number of abuses that were committed before... Tell me, why do some leaders lose their sense of measure? That is precisely why I will do everything so that the Volynians live better... As for my personal interests, the people who worked with me before know: they were never the main thing for me." The end of this quote, and now it is the turn of the next one. From the response of oblast prosecutor Andriy Hyl to the inquiry of people's deputy Serhiy Slabenko to the chairman of the Coordination Committee on Combating Corruption and Organized Crime under the President of Ukraine: "Since the family members of Panchyshyn V.H. — Nykolyshyna H.V., Nykolyshyn M.D., Nykolyshyna A.M. — were not on the housing register and at the time of the decision did not live with him, the adoption by the executive committee (of the Lutsk city executive committee — Author) of the decision to allocate an apartment to Panchyshyn V.H. and the issuance to him and his family members of the warrant took place in violation of the above-mentioned norms of housing legislation... In addition, the above-mentioned warrant, in violation of paragraphs 69 and 72 of the said Rules, was issued before the completion of construction of the building. The latter has not been transferred to the housing maintenance organization for operation, and no decision has been made to assign it a legal address... Based on the results of the inspection, the Lutsk city prosecutor's office filed a protest against the executive committee's decision."

It is difficult to add anything. Let us only say that the daughter of Volodymyr Hryhorovych — Nykolyshyna H.V. — lives with her daughter in the village of Voroniaky, and the son-in-law — in Zolochiv of Lviv Oblast. Panchyshyn's wife O.Ya. — in Lviv on Sosnova Street, 26/33. The privatized four-room Lviv apartment was transferred by V. Panchyshyn back in 1999 to his son, who did not and does not live in it. A new three-room apartment in Lutsk, moreover in a cottage-type building with a total area of 122 square meters for one person, did not seem too large to Volodymyr Hryhorovych. And he, it turns out, is homeless... However, so far he has not managed to carry out what was planned. The prosecutor's office protested the executive committee's decision, and the Lutsk city court upheld the protest and ruled to evict the first deputy governor from the illegally obtained apartment. Volodymyr Hryhorovych is in no hurry to comply with the court's ruling. And people will long remember how, in crash-course fashion, apartment No. 7 at 53 Kopernyk Street was put in order.

To speak of the abuses of others and not notice not only one's own, which is in principle characteristic of a person, but also to stubbornly fail to see the violations of one's closest circle. Deputy governor Halyna Yakymchuk was invited to Lutsk from Horokhiv, where she headed the district state administration. In January of last year a decision was adopted by the administration and the trade union committee to allocate her a 3-room apartment. Her family consists of three people. But already in October of the same year, if one believes the submitted certificate, the family sharply increases to 6 people. The list includes not only the husband, daughter, and son-in-law but also a brother and even a nephew. None of them lived in Lutsk; all were registered in Horokhiv. The result — a protest from the prosecutor's office.

Yuriy Horbenko worked as deputy head of the Lutsk district state administration. He was transferred to Halyna Yakymchuk's place in Horokhiv. Logical — Halyna Vasylivna gives up the apartment, and Yuriy Mefodiyovych occupies it. But that was not the case. The latter owns an apartment on Kyiv Square in Lutsk and a mansion in the so-called "tsar's village," also in the oblast center. Perhaps he has already managed to re-register them... However, at the expense of the budget, a new mansion within the limits of 18 thousand dollars is being bought for the new head of the district administration in Horokhiv. A huge sum for a district center.

Nor was another deputy governor left out — Stepan Rodych was bought a small house for the same money. About apartments with an area of about 140 square meters plus a utility room and a garage, received by the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Directorate of Volyn Oblast A. Spravedlyvyi and former head of the UBOP M. Lebed for families of two people, they do not recall in the oblast state administration; moreover, at the time of receiving the housing, Mykhailo Adamovych had already been transferred from Lutsk, and Oleksandr Pavlovych was divorced. Both of these apartments were urgently privatized, despite the fact that a citizen of Ukraine has the right to use this privilege only once, and the named persons already owned housing in other cities. The same kind of apartment was received by former oblast prosecutor A. Bahanets for a family of four and, upon transfer to a new place of service, he handed it over to the executive committee.

The position of the Lutsk executive committee and city mayor Anton Kryvytskyi, who allow direct violations in the allocation of apartments, is also incomprehensible. The documents indicate only the usable area, but not the total area. The presence of utility rooms, a garage, and the number of rooms is not detailed. Everything can be explained by a command from above. But Anton Fedorovych is not the kind of person on whom one can "pressure." Rather, such behavior of the city authorities confirms that the bodies of local self-government are fully dependent on the executive power, and there can be no talk of their independence.

At the All-Ukrainian conference on the problems of combating organized crime and corruption, L.D. Kuchma stated: "The scale of corruption is characterized as having struck all spheres of our life." It is interesting whether abuse of office on such a scale can be equated with corrupt acts or, even more, with organized crime committed by a group of persons? But our officials do not care about anything. They are not afraid of the governor's wrath, which, true, is also a rather rare guest in the oblast, but still. After all, it was none other than Anatoliy Yosypovych who at the introduction assured that he had always respected honesty and decency. The same motif, but much stronger, sounded from his lips at the introduction of the new (now already former) head of the militia A. Spravedlyvyi: "In our own house we will jointly establish order." Nothing to say — they established it. All this very much resembles the fable about the cat Vaska, who listens and eats...

Volodymyr Panchyshyn continues to work calmly in his high position. No one is in a hurry to comply with the decree of the President of Ukraine "On Serious Shortcomings in the Work of the State Customs Service of Ukraine," which clearly states: "The heads of the Volyn and Luhansk oblast state administrations shall consider the question of dismissing from their positions for failure to comply with the Presidential Order... first deputy head of the Volyn Oblast State Administration V. Panchyshyn." The deadline allotted for this has long expired. Moreover, despite all his busyness, Volodymyr Hryhorovych also teaches at the Lutsk State Technical University, where he is listed as an associate professor of the Department of Economics. A candidate of economic sciences with such life experience has something to tell the students... There is only one unfortunate hitch: the high officials from the oblast state administration failed to conceal their abuse of office. It became the property of the broad public, which, of course, the opposition forces did not fail to take advantage of. As a result — the rating of the local authorities in Volyn is now equal to the freezing point.

Where Do Budget Funds Go?

It is too early to speak of the current ones — the year is still ahead. Let us speak very briefly about those used in 2003. The year was unusual. In the previous one, i.e., 2002 (and in this there is the merit of B. Klymchuk, who headed Volyn in the first half of the year), the oblast significantly overfulfilled the state budget and received a bonus in the amount of about 30 million hryvnias. Hence the significant repayment of wage arrears to budget employees, of benefits to mothers, etc. Computer classes were purchased, which Anatoliy Yosypovych personally handed to the students with great pleasure. But a significant part of the funds — more than 2.6 million hryvnias — was intended "for the construction of housing for invited highly qualified specialists — 1 million 980 thousand hryvnias, for the reconstruction of the entrance doors of the oblast state administration — 150 thousand hryvnias, for the repair of the canteen of the same organization — 150 thousand hryvnias, for the purchase of a high-class cinema installation for the oblast state administration — 150 thousand hryvnias, and for the repair of the mansion in which A. Frantsuz lives — another 120 thousand hryvnias." By the way, this mansion was thoroughly reconstructed several years ago, which cost 150 thousand hryvnias.

There are also more recent examples: 62 thousand were invested in the reconstruction of a guest house in the village of Zveriv of the Kivertsi district, which is not even an object of oblast communal property. Is it not because Volodymyr Panchyshyn lived there before moving to the illegally obtained apartment? Equally incomprehensible is the situation with the financing of the repair of the starter house of military unit A-2406. What relation does the oblast budget have to a military unit? Let us not forget also the reconstruction of the session hall of the oblast council, which cost half a million hryvnias. There are no words — it was needed, but was it timely, when there are 66 emergency buildings in Lutsk, when 30,400 people in the oblast are waiting to receive housing?

Honors, Honors

Mr. Frantsuz is not indifferent to awards and titles. And now in Volyn, whether appropriate or not, in all press publications and in television and radio appearances, it is necessarilyemphasized that the oblast is headed by a Hero of Ukraine. There is no doubt that Anatoliy Yosypovych is a courageous, brave, and strong-willed man. However, being a very good head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Directorate in an oblast and showing courage in detaining dangerous criminals does not yet mean being a good politician, organizer, financier, and manager. And without these qualities, running an oblast — moreover a border one — somehow does not work out. One must have the courage to admit this. And no awards and titles — and Anatoliy Yosypovych, in addition to the Order of the "Gold Star," has been awarded 14 church orders, 7 departmental ones, and two from foreign countries, holds the title of Honored Lawyer of Ukraine, is a candidate of juridical sciences, an honorary professor, an academician, a member of the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine, and recently also received the honorary order distinction "Public Recognition" of the third degree — guarantee successful activity in the high and responsible post of head of the Volyn Oblast State Administration. One cannot help but recall the last and as yet unused third envelope...

Serhiy OVCHARENKO