References to Vemir Davitian’s activities in Zaporizhzhia have recently been targeted for removal from the information space. That is why we are returning to one of the investigations into his role in the region — a story about “kickbacks” from tenders, influence over personnel appointments, and attempts to establish control over local authorities and businesses.

We are republishing the material in full to recall how Davitian built up his influence in Zaporizhzhia, whose names he invoked in government offices, and how he explained the rules of working with tenders to businesses.

In 2021, an associate of Dnipro crime boss “Narik” (Oleksandr Petrovskyi) began introducing himself to local members of the “Servant of the People” party, as well as to representatives of the authorities and business community. In conversations with them, he insisted that from then on, all issues had to be resolved exclusively through him. He also persistently claimed that he was a friend of none other than MP Davyd Arakhamia.

It was through Petrovskyi’s “Solidarity” charitable foundation that Davitian began operating in Zaporizhzhia. Vemir Surenovych got off to a rather sluggish start in Zaporizhzhia — he organized several low-profile events on Petrovskyi’s behalf, but they had little impact. Nevertheless, the task had been accomplished: Davitian had obtained an official façade for his presence in Zaporizhzhia. This is indirectly supported by the fact that Petrovskyi either gave him or provided him with the use of a motorcade consisting of several vehicles with Dnipro license plates bearing the numbers “0009” and “0001,” as well as a security detail of around fifteen people. However, this tactic eventually paid off — Davitian subsequently came to be perceived as someone who had influence over the personnel policy of the Office of the President of Ukraine (OPU) in the region.

Davitian claimed that he had connections within the Office of the President at the level of Kyrylo Tymoshenko. At the same time, he persistently recommended that businessmen who were given the opportunity to win tenders “kick back” between 20% and 30% of the tender amount to him. Moreover, this applied not only to current and future tenders, but also to tenders that had already been won.

Arakhamia denied having any interests in the Zaporizhzhia region so vigorously that it ended up creating the opposite impression. Nevertheless, it was precisely after these assurances from Arakhamia and Davitian that investigative journalists became interested in the latter. Fuel was added to the fire by an awkward attempt by Davitian’s PR team to “flood” Internet search results with articles in which Vemir Surenovych reflected on corporate raiding.

Moreover, it was done clumsily, while the budget allocated by Davitian for this effort was clearly “skimmed off” — articles featuring Vemir Surenovych’s profound reflections that “the victim of raiders is to blame for it themselves” appeared on obscure websites such as volnovakha.city and konotop.city. That alone was enough to raise the suspicions of an experienced observer.

According to Davitian, it was he who “appointed” Oleksandr Starukh as head of the regional state administration. But the truth is that Vemir Davitian not only could not “appoint” anyone, he could not even propose a more or less suitable candidate to the Office of the President. For one simple reason — he was an outsider in the region with no influence whatsoever over the local elites.

However, Davitian seems to have realistically assessed his position and turned for help to Hennadii Fuks, a well-known businessman, former deputy governor, and head of the “For the Future” faction in the newly elected regional council. Fuks proposed his longtime associate Oleksandr Starukh.

Davitian then reported to Kyrylo Tymoshenko that Starukh was “100 percent his man.”

In the end, everyone was satisfied — Fuks and his entourage gained control over the region, Kyrylo Tymoshenko declared that he had “quickly and effectively” resolved the personnel problems in the Zaporizhzhia region, while Davitian himself gained a story he could use to claim that he had “appointed the governor and the head of the regional council.”