“In the law on oligarchs, I see a threat to freedom. In general, freedom. Not only freedom of speech and the media, but freedom in Ukraine in general. We know well that in countries such as Ukraine, Russia, Belarus, which emerged from the post-Soviet onWith the communist past, unfortunately, oligarchs are an integral part of the economic and social landscape. Destruction oligarchs in this kind of country means the coming to power of the KGB. This is our dilemma: either the oligarchs or the special services, “Illarionov said.
He recalled that in There were many oligarchs in Russia in the 1990s, “there were many wars between oligarchs and with oligarchs.”
“When the oligarchs were defeated, everyone saw that the special services were in power. No oligarchs. But the special services appointed their own oligarchs and became oligarchs themselves. political, economic, civil freedom and freedom of speech “, – the expert is convinced.
In his opinion, the presence of a large number of oligarchs “ensures the preservation of political freedom in the country “, while the more oligarchs, the better for citizens.
“Oligarchs are not the sweetest thing in the world, this is true. But it is precisely the presence of not one oligarch, but many oligarchs that will ensure the preservation of political freedom in any country. And the more oligarchs, the better. Because the main business of oligarchs is when they exist. , – they deal with each other. They sort things out with each other, fight for resources with each other and when they deal with each other, they do not deal with us – citizens. And this is the basis for ensuring political, civil, economic freedom in Ukraine and any other country, ” – said Illarionov.
He stressed that “oligarchs – alas, this is an integral element in the development of almost all countries. ”He recalled Italy and the United States as examples.
“Italy during the Renaissance is the Italy of the oligarchs. The most famous oligarch of all times and peoples is [флорентийский государственный деятель, глава Флорентийской Республики в эпоху Возрождения, в 1469–1492 годах] Lorenzo Medici, who gave us Florence … And the oligarchs of the late XIX – start XX centuries in the USA – these are Morgan, Mellon, Rockefeller, Carnegie … These are those who created the American economy, and then – examples of American culture, science, art, – [например] “Carnegie Hall” and other concert and exhibition halls, museums “, – said the economist.
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The Verkhovna Rada on September 23 adopted in the second reading the bill of the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky on oligarchs №5599. For a document 279 people’s deputies voted with 226 required. Voting took place according to a special procedure, without the possibility of making additional changes in the hall.
According to the project, the oligarch meets at least three of the following symptoms: participates in political life; has a significant impact on the media; is the ultimate beneficial owner (controller) of a business entity, is an entity of natural monopolies or holds a monopoly (dominant) position in the national commodity market and maintains or strengthens this position for one year in a row; the value of assets exceeds one million living wages established for able-bodied persons on January 1 of the corresponding year.
If a businessman is included in the register of oligarchs, he will be prohibited from participating in the purchase of large-scale privatization objects and financing political parties. In addition, officials will have to report contacts with oligarchs, and businessmen themselves will have to submit a declaration to the National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption.
Voting for the de-oligarchisation bill in the second reading, MPs took into account three amendments that contradict each other, said the head of the “Voice” faction Yaroslav Zheleznyak. They relate to which body should determine the oligarchs, said the people’s deputy. In particular, one of the amendments authored by Dmitry Razumkov (at the time of consideration of the bill, he was the speaker of parliament) suggested that oligarchs should not be determined by the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, as was the case in the editorial board proposed by the specialized committee, but by a special commission under the National Agency for Prevention corruption. Razumkov also claims that Rada accepted his amendment.
The adoption of the law on oligarchs provoked the resignation of Razumkov from the post of speaker. Razumkov, contrary to the decision of the Servant of the People faction, from which he was elected to parliament, sent the bill for examination to the Venice Commission before its consideration in the second reading. After the adoption of the bill in the second reading, Razumkov announced attempts to falsify the text of the document… Zelensky called Razumkov’s decision to send the draft law to the Venice Commission before its adoption in the final version “a political step, petty and erroneous “.
The document has not yet been submitted for signature by the President, before that it must be signed by the Speaker of the Parliament. Razumkov insiststhat he should sign, since it was he who headed the Rada when the document was adopted, the new speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk claims that there is no such norm in the legislation. “The head of the BP is simply a position that must have continuity. In some countries, there have been cases when something happened to the speaker. According to this logic, this bill could not be signed at all, “Stefanchuk said. He said that he would sign the document when the parliament considers 12 draft resolutions on canceling the decision to adopt the law.
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