Andriy Bohdan appointed as presidential administration head

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy appointed on
May 21 his team to serve in the Presidential Administration. Serving as the
head will be Andriy Bohdan, 42, the personal lawyer for billionaire Ihor
Kolomoisky since 2015 who said he was among those who helped Zelenskiy plan and
organize his presidential run. In an interview that evening on the 112 Ukraine
television network, Bohdan made the bold declaration that “oligarchs no longer
lead the country. Of course, the elections changed that. Will they influence
society? Certainly not through the Presidential Administration. And I, like no
one else in this country, can tell you that it seems to me that the oligarchs
already want the same rules of the game with other citizens.”

All of Zelenskiy’s other key Presidential
Administration appointments were those involved in his presidential campaign, as
well as his entertainment business. They are First Deputy Head Serhiy Trofimov,
who worked as his executive producer; and First Presidential Aide Serhiy
Shefir, a longtime partner in his entertainment business. Serving as
Presidential Administration deputy heads will be Yuriy Kostiuk, the producer of
“The People’s Servant” television series that launched his career; lawyer
Ruslan Riaboshapka (former member of the Agency for Corruption Prevention), who
accompanied Zelenskiy on his foreign trips; and Kyrylo Tymoshenko, Zelenskiy’s
media consultant for social and political ads.

Former Concorde Capital Executive Director Andriy
Gerus was appointed this morning to serve as the administration’s
representative to the Cabinet of Ministers, while lawyer and political
ideologue Ruslan Stefanchuk will be the administration’s representative to
parliament.

Zenon Zawada: Oligarchs
may not be running the country, as Bohdan alleged, but one oligarch certainly
just gained more influence than all the others with Bohdan’s appointment. It
makes perfect sense, given that he was the genesis of the Zelenskiy presidency.
It also makes sense considering that Kolomoisky provided Zelenskiy with all the
resources necessary to become president, including Bohdan’s political and legal
counsel. Bohdan has already demonstrated a brash and sometimes combative style
in communicating with political rivals, as well as the mass media. That
approach will work so long as Zelenskiy remains popular, or at least the
remainder of the year. It will backfire should Zelenskiy start to lose his
popularity (possibly in the mid-term).

The big question is to what extent Kolomoisky will
influence decision-making on Bankova Street, now that his personal lawyer will
be the brains behind the showman. Certainly, we can expect Kolomoisky will
enjoy immunity from the prosecutor general’s office. As for the courts, we
can’t make any predictions except that the best outcome will be if
Zelenskiy/Bohdan adopt the policy of allowing the courts to treat all their subjects
equally under the law, particularly being allowed to make fair rulings on those
complaints involving Kolomoisky. That alone would be a major step forward for
rule of law in Ukraine.

Despite having the reputation of having no
political experience, several of these appointments have served in Ukraine’s
political establishment. Riaboshapka even served in the Cabinet of former PM
Mykola Azarov (who fled to Russia after the EuroMaidan Revolution), while
Stefanchuk served as an advisor to first deputy PM Stepan Kubiv. So the
Zelenskiy team is not as radical as being alleged by critics, though it
certainly has the most new faces in any recent administration.