Oleksiy Valeriyovych Zhuravko (Ukrainian: Олексій Валерійович Журавко, Russian: Алексей Валерьевич Журавко; 21 April 1974 – 25 September 2022) was a Ukrainian and Russian politician who was a member of Ukraine's national parliament Verkhovna Rada from 2006 to 2012.[1] He was a member of the pro-Russian Party of Regions from 2006.[1] Zhuravko moved to Russia in 2015.[1] He acquired Russian citizenship and joined the United Russia party in July 2022.[2] He died in September 2022 in a missile attack in Kherson during the Ukrainian southern counteroffensive.[1]
Oleksiy Zhuravko | |
|---|---|
Олексій Журавко | |
.png) Zhuravko in 2019 | |
| Member of the Verkhovna Rada | |
| In office 25 May 2006 – 12 December 2012 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Oleksiy Valeriyovych Zhuravko 21 April 1974 Zhovti Vody, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, Ukrainian SSR, USSR |
| Died | 25 September 2022 (aged 48) Kherson, Ukraine |
| Citizenship | Soviet Union (1974–1991) Ukraine (1991–2022) Russia (2022) |
| Political party | For United Ukraine! (2002) Party of Regions (2006–2022) United Russia (2022) |
| Spouse | Anzhela |
| Children | 1 |
| Alma mater | Kherson State University |
| Awards | Order of Merit (2000, 2004) |
Early life and education
editBorn on 21 April 1974 in Zhovti Vody, Zhuravko lived in an orphanage from 1974 to 1978.[3][4] In 1978, he moved to a boarding school in Tsiurupynsk where he lived until 1990.[3] From 1990 until his return to Tsiurupynsk in 1993, Zhuravko had his vocational education in a boarding school in Luhansk.[3]
Beginning in 1997, Zhuravko started several companies aimed at the disabled in Ukraine in Tsiurupynsk.[5][3] In 2007, Zhuravko completed his education at the Kherson State University, majoring in economic theory.[5] The same year, Zhuravko and his wife, Anzhela (born 1986), had a daughter.[3]
Political career
editZhuravko failed to be elected in the 2002 Ukrainian parliamentary election as a candidate of For United Ukraine! in Kherson Oblast's electoral district 183.[4]
In 2004, Zhuravko became chairman or the Union of Public Organizations "Confederation of Public Organizations of Disabled People of Ukraine."[5] Zhuravko was awarded the Ukrainian Order of Merit twice.[3] Third Class in 2000 and Second Class in 2004.[3] In the 2006 and 2007 parliamentary election Zhuravko was elected to the Verkhovna Rada (Ukraine's national parliament) for the Party of Regions.[4] In 2006, he was placed 118th on the party list, and the following year he dropped 22 places.[3]
In the 2012 parliamentary election, Zhuravko again failed to be elected; this time as a Party of Regions candidate in electoral district 186 (also located in Kherson Oblast).[4][6] On 17 April 2013, Zhuravko was appointed Government Commissioner for the Rights of the Disabled.[5] This position was abolished on 5 March 2014.[5]
Zhuravko moved to Russia in 2015.[1] On 21 February 2015, he attended an anti-Euromaidan rally/commemoration in Moscow.[7] In October 2015, Zhuravko was reportedly "hiding from Ukrainian authorities" and openly supporting separatism.[8] In December 2015, Zhuravko's title of honorary citizen of Tsiurupynsk was removed.[9] In January 2018, a pre-trial investigation was started into his alleged financing of the Donetsk People's Republic and Luhansk People's Republic quasi-states proclaimed within the territory of Ukraine.[10]
Zhuravko acquired Russian citizenship and joined the United Russia party in July 2022.[2] Following the February 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, he returned to Russian occupied Kherson in late April 2022.[11] On 22 September 2022, Zhuravko published a video in which he cast his vote in Kherson at the 2022 annexation referendums.[4] He stated that the Kherson Oblast's (Russian) occupation was the region's "liberation from Ukrainian nationalists."[4] Zhuravko called on Russia "to complete the special operation and reach the western borders of Ukraine in order to liberate the country from the nationalists."[4] He became wanted by the Security Service of Ukraine and was suspected of actions "aimed at violently changing or overthrowing the constitutional order or seizing state power".[4] Zhuravko was killed on 25 September 2022, during the Ukrainian southern counteroffensive, in a missile strike on Kherson which pro-Kremlin authorities blamed on Ukraine.[12][4]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e Petrenko, Roman (25 September 2022). "У Херсоні вбили екснардепа Ради – росЗМІ". Ukrainska Pravda (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 25 September 2022.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Small biography on Oleksii Zhuravko". dovidka.com.ua (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 25 September 2022.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Small biography on Oleksii Zhuravko, Civil movement "Chesno" (in Ukrainian)
- ^ a b c d e "Small biography on Oleksii Zhuravko". Слово і Діло (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 25 September 2022.
- ^ "Підрахунок голосів на виборах-2012: По мажоритарних округах до ВР проходять 114 регіоналів (оновлюється) (Counting of votes in the 2012 elections: 114 regional candidates go to the Verkhovna Rada in majority constituencies (updated))" (in Ukrainian). RBC Ukraine. 2 November 2012. Retrieved 25 September 2022.
- ^ Alexey Zhuravko marched in Moscow against Maidan today, most.ks.ua (21 February 2015) (in Russian)
- ^ Mayoral elections in Kherson. Who is who among the candidates, Civil movement "Chesno" (23 October 2015) (in Ukrainian)
- ^ Zhuravko is no longer an honorary citizen of Tsurupinsk, most.ks.ua (29 December 2015) (in Ukrainian)
- ^ Zhuravko financed terrorists and illegally influenced prisoners, most.ks.ua (22 January 2018) (in Ukrainian)
- ^ Pro-Russian collaborator Aleksei Zhuravko returned to Kherson, most.ks.ua (27 April 2022) (in Ukrainian)
- ^ "Ukraine war: Kyiv forces accused of killing two in Kherson hotel strike". BBC News. 25 September 2022. Retrieved 25 September 2022.
External links
edit
Media related to Alexey Zhuravko at Wikimedia Commons
