Yevgeny Balitsky

Yevgeny Vitalyevich Balitsky (Russian: Евгений Витальевич Бали́цкий, Ukrainian: Євген Віталійович Балицький, romanized: Yevhen Vitaliiovych Balytskyi; born 10 December 1969) is a Russian and Ukrainian politician and entrepreneur currently serving as the acting Governor of the Russian occupation of Zaporizhzhia Oblast from 4 October 2022. He also de jure serves as a deputy of the Zaporizhzhia Oblast Council.[1] Previously was Head of Zaporizhzhia military–civilian administration from since 9 May 2022. Also, previously served as a People's Deputy of Ukraine in the 7th and 8th convocations of the Verkhovna Rada (Ukraine's parliament).

In this name that follows Eastern Slavic naming conventions, the patronymic is Vitalyevich and the family name is Balitsky.

Yevgeny Balitsky
Евгений Балицкий
Balitsky in 2022
Acting Governor of Zaporozhye Oblast
(Russian-installed)
Assumed office
9 May 2022
PresidentVladimir Putin
Preceded byOleksandr Starukh[lower-alpha 1]
People's Deputy of Ukraine
In office
12 December 2012 – 29 August 2019
Preceded byConstituency established
Succeeded bySerhii Minko
ConstituencyZaporizhzhia Oblast, No. 80
Personal details
Born (1969-12-10) 10 December 1969
Melitopol, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union
Political partyUnited Russia (since 2022)
Other political
affiliations
Children3
Military service
Allegiance Soviet Union (1991)
 CIS (1991–1992)
 Ukraine (1992–1995)
Branch/service Soviet Air Forces
 Ukrainian Air Force
Years of service1991–1995

Born in Melitopol to a military family, Balitsky served in the Soviet Air Forces and Ukrainian Air Force before entering business, serving as head of a household appliance company in Melitopol. He entered politics as an independent member of the Zaporizhzhia Oblast Council before joining the Party of Regions in 2004. Balitsky served two terms as a People's Deputy of Ukraine, the first as a member of the Party of Regions and the second as a member of the Opposition Bloc.

Following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Balitsky began to collaborate with Russian authorities. Originally suspected to be de facto mayor of Melitopol by the Security Service of Ukraine, he was later appointed as Governor of Zaporizhzhia Oblast by Russian authorities on 9 May 2022, amidst the occupation of the southern parts of the oblast by the Russian military.

Early life and career

Yevhen Vitaliiovych Balitsky was born in Melitopol, then in the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic of the Soviet Union, on 10 December 1969, to a family of military aviators. In 1987, he graduated from high school. In 1991, he graduated from Tambov Higher Military Aviation School as a lieutenant. For the next four years, he served in various aviation garrisons, and in 1995 was transferred to the reserves from Melitopol Regiment military transport aircraft with the rank of captain.[2]

From 1995 to 1997, he was the head of the OlZheKa company, which sold and repaired household appliances in Melitopol.[2] In 1996, OlZheKa established the first FM radio station in Melitopol, called Southern Space.[3]

From 1997 to 2007, Balitsky was head of the Melitopol Brewery, and only in 2007 sold a controlling stake in this company. Since 2000, led Melitopol Avtogidroagregat, a tractor parts company. As of 2012, he was deputy director for economics at Melitopol Avtogidroagregat. Both Melitopol Brewery and Avtogidroagregat achieved economic success under Balitsky's leadership.[3]

Regional politics

From 1998 to 2002, Balitsky was a deputy of the Zaporizhzhia Oblast Council, as an independent.[4][3]

In 2004, he joined the Party of Regions, and from 2010 to 2012 again served as a deputy of the Zaporizhzhia Oblast Council for this party.[4][5] This time serving as a member of the Standing Committee on the Budget, as well as the Acting Director of the Department in the Ministry of Economy and European Integration.[5]

National politics
Balitsky in the Verkhovna Rada, 2014

From 2012 to 2019, Balitsky was a People's Deputy of Ukraine, serving in the 7th and 8th convocation of the Verkhovna Rada (Ukraine's national parliament).[2] He was elected both times as member of Zaporizhia Oblast district No. 80, a multi-member district comprising Melitopol and Melitopol Raion.[2][6] In the 2012 Ukrainian parliamentary election he was elected as a member of the Party of Regions and in 2014 reelected as a self-nominated candidate.[4]

On 14 February 2014, he was elected deputy chairman of the Melitopol organisation of the Party of Regions.[2] In April, Balitsky noted environmental problems at Molochnyi Lyman.[7]

On 3 June 2014, Balitsky left the Party of Regions faction in the Verkhovna Rada,[8] later joining the Opposition Bloc in May 2015.[9]

In the 2019 Ukrainian parliamentary election Balitsky failed to get reelected in district No. 80, this time for the party Opposition Bloc.[4] In this election he gained 29.5% of the votes in the constituency, while winner Serhii Minko won with 33.13%.[10][6]

In the 2020 Ukrainian local elections Balitsky was again elected as a deputy of the Zaporizhzhia Oblast Council for the party Opposition Bloc.[4]

Collaboration with Russian forces
See also: Russian occupation of Zaporizhzhia Oblast; 2022 annexation referendums in Russian-occupied Ukraine; and Russian annexation of Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia oblasts
Balitsky (second from the left) celebrating with Vladimir Putin and three other Russian-backed leaders of occupied Ukrainian regions

Following the capture of Melitopol by Russian forces during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Balitsky assisted in the establishment of a new, pro-Russian government in the city. The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has claimed that Balitsky is the grey eminence of the occupation in Melitopol.[11][12]

On 9 May 2022, it was reported that Balitsky was appointed governor of the Russian-occupied Zaporizhia Oblast.[13] Balitsky became a member of United Russia on 26 September 2022.[14]

On 30 September 2022, Balitsky and the other pro-Russian occupation heads, Denis Pushilin, Leonid Pasechnik and Volodymyr Saldo, attended the ceremony in Moscow during which Vladimir Putin formally announced the annexation of the Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia oblasts.[15]

In January 2023, Balitisky and the administration established the Pavel Sudoplatov Battalion and Balitsky's son joined it as a soldier.[16]

Awards

Notes
  1. Control over Zaporizhzhia Oblast is disputed due to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. Balytskyi is supported by Russian military forces, while Starukh is supported by the government of Ukraine.

References
  1. "Депутатський корпус | Запорiзька обласна рада". zor.gov.ua. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
  2. "Балицкий Евгений Витальевич" [Balytskyi, Yevhen Vitaliiovych]. Who's Who in Zaporizhzhia (in Russian). Archived from the original on 1 February 2014. Retrieved 9 February 2014.
  3. "БАЛИЦКИЙ Евгений Витальевич" [BALYTSKYI, Yevhen Vitaliiovych]. Who's Who in Melitopol (in Russian). Archived from the original on 14 January 2014. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
  4. Small biography on Yevgeny Balitsky, Civil movement "Chesno" (in Ukrainian)
  5. "Балицкий Евгений Витальевич" [Balytskyi, Yevhen Vitaliiovych]. Lb.ua (in Russian). 31 January 2018. Archived from the original on 30 September 2022. Retrieved 6 August 2022.
  6. "The mayor of Melitopol won the election of deputies from the OB in Zaporizhia Oblast". Ukrainian News Agency (in Ukrainian). 23 July 2019. Retrieved 10 October 2022.
  7. "Решение экологических проблем на Молочном лимане – под контролем областной власти" [Solutions to ecological problems in Molochnyi Lyman under control by oblast government]. Nash Gorod Plyus (in Russian). 14 April 2014. Archived from the original on 16 April 2014. Retrieved 6 August 2022.
  8. "Нардеп Евгений Балицкий покинул фракцию Партии регионов в парламенте" [People's Deputy Yevhen Balytskyi leaves Party of Regions parliamentary faction]. Nash Horod Plyus (in Russian). 3 June 2014. Archived from the original on 6 June 2014. Retrieved 6 August 2022.
  9. "Гройсман объявил о вхождении Балицкого и Шенцева в состав фракции "Оппозиционного блока"" [Groysman announces entry of Balytskyi and Shentsev into "Opposition Bloc" faction]. RBC Ukraine (in Russian). 15 May 2015. Archived from the original on 17 May 2015. Retrieved 6 August 2022.
  10. (in Ukrainian) Information on the counting of votes of voters in the single-member constituency №80 (Zaporizhia Oblast), Central Election Commission of Ukraine
  11. "Що відомо про депутата Євгена Балицького, який співпрацює з окупантами" [What is known about the deputy Yevhen Balytskyi, who cooperates with the occupiers]. Zaporizhzhian Investigation Centre (in Ukrainian). 25 March 2022. Archived from the original on 31 March 2022. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
  12. Lotareva, Anastasiya; Zakharov, Andrei (1 April 2022). "Экс-"регионал", бухгалтерша и горный инженер: кто стал новой властью на оккупированных украинских территориях" [Ex-regional, accountant and mining engineer: who became the new government in the occupied Ukrainian territories?]. BBC (in Russian). Archived from the original on 2 April 2022. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
  13. "Окупанти призначили одіозного екснардепа Балицького "губернатором" Запоріжжя". 24 Канал (in Ukrainian). Archived from the original on 11 May 2022. Retrieved 11 May 2022.
  14. "Гауляйтер Запорожской области Балицкий вступил в партию Путина". Украинская правда (in Russian). Archived from the original on 3 October 2022. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
  15. Landay, Jonathan (30 September 2022). "Defiant Putin proclaims Ukrainian annexation as military setback looms". Reuters. Archived from the original on 6 October 2022. Retrieved 1 October 2022.
  16. "Добровольцы из Сербии поступили в батальон имени Судоплатова". РИА Новости (in Russian). Retrieved 17 January 2023.
  17. "Нардеп від Мелітополя Євгеній Балицький став кавалером ордена «За заслуги»" [People's Deputy from Melitopol Yevhen Balytskyi becomes member of Order For Merit]. Nash Gorod Plyus (in Ukrainian). 26 August 2013. Archived from the original on 3 October 2022. Retrieved 6 August 2022.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.