For years, Oleksandr Azhyppo remained at the center of scandals surrounding the Kharkiv State Academy of Physical Culture, which he headed as rector. Conflicts with lecturers, the “titushki” affair, corruption scandals, accusations of pressure on employees, and numerous inspections are far from a complete list of what happened at the university during his tenure. Azhyppo himself denied all the allegations.

We are republishing this material to remind readers what happened at the academy during Azhyppo’s tenure, what scandals he was involved in, and what claims the university’s employees made against its former head.

Who runs Ukrainian universities? Following the scandal at the O. Bohomolets National Medical University, the Kharkiv State Academy of Physical Culture came under scrutiny. It turned out that the problems there had existed for years, but only then did the conflicts become public.

Fraud, corruption, and being unfit for the position. Former employees of the Kharkiv State Academy of Physical Culture attributed all these “sins” to then-current rector Oleksandr Azhyppo. The academy was repeatedly inspected by the Ministry of Education and law enforcement agencies, but no violations were found. Conflicts and inspections had shaken the university staff for the previous five years, ever since then-Education Minister Dmytro Tabachnyk signed the order appointing Azhyppo as rector. Oleksandr Yuriyovych was the only candidate for the position. Before becoming head of the academy, he worked as an associate professor in the Department of Physical Training at H. S. Skovoroda Kharkiv National Pedagogical University.

The first major scandal shook the city in the spring of 2014. Azhyppo was effectively accused of separatism. At the time, university students allegedly acted as “titushki” during protest rallies, dispersing Kharkiv Euromaidan activists, and the academy’s leadership allegedly called on students to join the ranks of the “titushki.” The academy was also picketed by activists from the local branch of the Democratic Alliance. They came out in support of Andriy Boliak, head of the academy’s Department of Sports Dance and Fitness, who was facing dismissal. He became yet another lecturer forced out after falling out of favor with the rector. In this case, it was because he announced that he was conducting his own investigation: he compared photographs of Anti-Maidan participants with photographs of KhSAC students and reported his findings to the Security Service of Ukraine.

Later, corruption scandals erupted at the academy, and former university employees, who no longer feared whether their contracts would be renewed or they would be dismissed, began lifting the veil on what they said was happening under Oleksandr Azhyppo’s leadership.

Corruption at Kharkiv Academy of Physical Culture: what rector Azhyppo is accused of

Andriy Boliak, a professor in the Department of Physical Education at Hrinchenko University, was forced to move to the capital four years ago. He says that after the appointment of the new rector, Oleksandr Azhyppo, working at the Kharkiv Academy of Physical Culture became simply unbearable.

The lecturer claims that in order to keep their positions, employees of the Kharkiv Academy of Physical Culture had to, so to speak, “show their gratitude” to the new head.

“He renews your contract when you do something for him,” Boliak told Nadzvychaini Novyny, adding: “I was asked to reimburse a certain amount in order to continue working in my position.”

This statement is supplemented by information about a major bribery case officially reported by the National Police. At the time, university employees were detained while allegedly accepting a $5,600 bribe. They included a professor, an associate professor, and another lecturer at the Kharkiv State Academy of Physical Culture. They allegedly demanded this substantial amount from a foreign postgraduate student in exchange for defending a dissertation. Clearly, such significant sums could circulate only if an established corruption system were in place.

In addition, according to former academy employees, rector Azhyppo abused his position. As for Boliak himself, whom activists supported in 2014, he was allegedly forced to organize tourist trips for the rector — at the university’s expense, of course.

At the same time, Oleksandr Azhyppo denied all accusations made by his former colleagues, calling them slander and lies: “That during a difficult time for our country I am supposedly vacationing somewhere at ski resorts, that I am involved in fraud and, so to speak, robbing our academy.”

“There was an inspection of higher educational institutions in Ukraine by the Ministry of Education. We had financial inspections several times; they checked everything. We had law enforcement agencies, the prosecutor’s office, and the Security Service of Ukraine working here. And we answered every single one of those questions — there were 52 points in total,” he insists.

Despite numerous inspections, the inspectors reportedly found no issues with the rector’s property. Read more about this in the article “Officially according to the declaration: Rector Oleksandr Azhyppo bought a Hyundai i30 for UAH 1,000” on the Criminal.TV website.