Heorhiy Kirpa

Heorhiy Kirpa ( _uk. Георгій Кірпа) (July 20, 1946 in Klubivka, Khmelnytskyi Oblast - December 27, 2004 in Bortnychi, near Kiev) was a Ukrainian industrial manager, statesman and politician. He was the head of Ukrainian railways.

Ukrzaliznytsia career

As general director of the Ukrainian national railroad operator Ukrzaliznytsia. When he took on the job, it was estimated that Ukrzaliznytsias received credits for only 15% of the transportation services it rendered, and the rest falling to corruption. Only a third of its earnings were retained by the corporation. Kirpa's policies helped to dramatically cut corruptionFact|date=June 2007 by sacking the mid-level bureaucrats, at the same time heDubious|date=March 2008 raised tariffs to make the rail transport profitable, which although was unpopular, nonetheless this was compensatedFact|date=June 2007 by also raising the salaries of the thousands of workers employed in the railway sector.

Political career

In May 2002, Kirpa was appointed Minister of Transport by the then President Leonid Kuchma and on April 23 was awarded an honourable title Hero of Ukraine. In a publicly debated move in 2003, the President placed paramilitary railroad armed forces under the direction of Kirpa. He was a staunch supporter of Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych, who was defeated in the fiercely contested 2004 presidential elections.

Controversial death

Heorhiy Kirpa was found shot dead at his holiday home in Bortnychi just outside of Kiev, December 27, 2004. The police suspect he committed suicide, and have started an investigation under the article "coercion to commit suicide". Officials in the ministry link the death with malversation of public funds during the construction of a new bridge over the Dnieper river in Kiev. Some suspect that Kirpa, who supplied Yanukovych with free trains to bring miners from Donbass to Kiev in order to intimidate the opposition during the Orange Revolution, now hesitated to do so, fearing either the possible outcome or simply being brought to justice after the opposition assumed power.

External links

* [http://eng.for-ua.com/comments/2002/05/11/154614.html Reaction to his appointment as Minister of Transport]
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4129091.stm BBC reports of his death]
* [http://www.kirpa.openua.net/ Personal webpage]