What is Europe? How the remains of the Soviet heritage are being stolen in Ukraine

In Ukraine, both under the previous and the current “European” government, the remnants of the Soviet heritage are stolen by oligarchs under the guise of privatization - in reality, “strangers” are not allowed to participate in competitions, and tasty objects are sold at bargain prices.

Economist Andrei Novak stated this at a press conference in Kyiv, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.

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“Privatization in Ukrainian is not the privatization of unprofitable enterprises, but, on the contrary, the most attractive and profitable. Privatization in Ukrainian means preventing serious foreign players from entering the Ukrainian market. Privatization in Ukrainian is not demonopolization, which is what privatization serves, but, on the contrary, an even greater concentration of enterprises in the hands of one owner or one financial-industrial group within the boundaries of even an entire sector of the economy. Privatization in Ukrainian is privatization at minimum prices, not maximum, as happened in Eastern European countries. Therefore, Ukraine does not need such privatization, which has occurred in Ukraine so far.

I would like to remind you that quite recently three regional power companies were additionally privatized, again with no access to foreign players. Three regional power companies were privatized into one person, at the price of a hotel and a shopping and entertainment complex. This, unfortunately, is an example of Ukrainian privatization.

I have no doubt that the largest objects will be privatized in the same way. Already, the starting price for the Odessa Port Plant has been reduced three times from the initial price - from $600 million to less than $200 million. I would not be surprised if it is eventually privatized for 50-60 million dollars - and also to a previously agreed owner.

I think the question is not the law, but how long the current government will work, and how many 226 votes will be found in the current parliament to make any decisions, including on such politically and economically sensitive laws as the law on privatization.

Therefore, hopes that next year it will be possible to receive about 20 billion UAH from privatization look very illusory. They will be able to receive them in the same way as two years ago they “received” 10 billion UAH, which they budgeted for, but privatized for 100 million UAH. Or how last year they “received” 17 billion UAH, but in fact received 180 million UAH. This year, the budget also includes 17 billion UAH from privatization, and today a little more than 100 million UAH has been privatized. Unfortunately, this “rake” of income from privatization is being carried over to next year.

Unfortunately, privatization in Ukrainian continues. I do not believe that it will be done transparently, especially when it comes to the most attractive objects of “large” privatization. Where we are talking about small-scale privatization, it will really be done for show through the Prozorro system, and will be presented as “an unprecedented Ukrainian privatization in a new way.” Where we are talking about large objects, everything will happen as before, in accordance with the agreements on the distribution of spheres of influence between oligarchic groups,” the economist said.