The countryside residence of the former Ukrainian president and oligarch Viktor Yanukovich, located about a half-hour drive from Kyiv, now stands as a deserted mansion. Closed indefinitely because of Russia’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine, the place is shrouded in silence. Visitors are scarce, and the roughly 300 workers who kept it running — some of whom have gone to the front — have mostly left. After the state seized it and turned it into something of a museum, hundreds of tourists used to visit in a decade to marvel at the kitschy luxury Yanukovich enjoyed. “It’s a site that feels absurd in itself,” reflects Denys Trakhotelyk, the man who runs the estate and who granted El Periódico, part of the Prensa Ibérica group, a special permit to visit the location.
The Mezhyhirya residence, a striking villa with a zoo in tow, has in the last decade stood as a trophy of the triumph of a revolution that shook the delicate balance between Russia and the West a decade ago. It sparked the ongoing conflict that has yet to settle: the Maidan Revolution of 2014. It has served as a showcase of excess, corruption networks, and clientelism that emerged after Ukraine gained independence in 1991.
Today its fortune has shifted. Not only did Yanukovich flee to Russia and never return to Ukraine, where he faces ongoing legal proceedings, but other oligarchs like him have faced similar fates. This includes billionaire Viktor Medvedchuk, arrested in 2022 by Kyiv authorities on charges of high treason and later exchanged with Russia for imprisoned soldiers. Dmytro Firtash, likewise exiled in Russia, has faced various seizure actions against his properties.
Donetsk Clan
All of them were tied to the Kiev Seven or to the Donetsk clan, two of the great economic blocs that controlled vast swathes of power and played a key role in Ukraine’s stability. They were multimillionaires who enriched themselves from Ukraine’s wealth in the 1990s and faced a range of criminal accusations over time.
One exception is strikingly clear: Rinat Akhmetov, seen as part of the Donetsk clan. Despite losing a portion of his fortune — he was also the owner of the Azovstal steel plant, famous for being a last stronghold of Ukrainian resistance in Mariupol before it fell to Russian forces — he remains on the Forbes list with an estimated fortune of 5.7 billion dollars. “Although his influence in Donetsk politics has waned, from local leaders to wealthy businessmen, he remains active in the new system,” notes Mark Galeotti, a renowned expert on the post-Soviet space, to this publication.
Near Zelenski
Mykola Davydiuk is a political analyst based in Kyiv who has been probing the interests of these networks. He says that while many of Yanukovich’s properties have been seized by the state, it remains unclear exactly how large his wealth was or if everything has been found, a doubt echoed by other sources consulted. Davydiuk also recalls that connections between figures like Akhmetov and the Zelenski government persist today.
“One example is the prime minister, Denys Shmyhal, who once worked for Akhmetov in the energy sector. Rostyslav Shurma, Zelenski’s advisor on economic matters and a former member of the Party of Regions (Yanukovich’s party) and former manager of Zaporizhstal, controlled by Akhmetov’s Metinvest group, is another instance,” Davydiuk explains. “This shows that Akhmetov’s men remain close to the Ukrainian government and that their power and influence remain very strong.”
The story of Akhmetov is unusual. After the pro-Russian unrest in Donbas in 2014, he faced accusations of fomenting that conflict. Yet, with time and especially since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, his charitable initiatives have gained more visibility as part of an apparent effort to improve his image. There is no clear evidence that Akhmetov maintains a direct link to Yanukovich, and Zelenskiy, who himself once worked for a billionaire, Ihor Kolomoisky, approved a 2021 de-oligarchization law intended to curb oligarchic influence in crucial sectors like mining, metallurgy, and energy. Still, many ordinary Ukrainians, affected by the inequality these powers have created, remain distrustful.