Ukrainians saw Paul Manafort's political impact up close; and it wasn't pretty

Paul Manafort, Donald Trump’s campaign chairman, has only recently become familiar to Americans. But in Ukraine, Manafort has played a decisive role in politics for nearly a decade – one that is being closely scrutinized after his name has appeared in documents that are being examined in a corruption investigation. That is why on Friday, I helped to make public more documents related to Manafort’s dealings with the Party of Regions, which he used to consult for. I remember Manafort clearly during the inauguration of Victor Yanukovych, the former president of Ukraine. On a cold February morning, men and women wearing tailcoats and evening gowns hurried towards the Lenin monument. There was a little bit of commotion at the entrance – Rinat Akhmetov, the richest Ukrainian man and the right arm of Yanukovych, was trying to make way for an inconspicuous American. It was only me and a few of my colleagues who recognized the mysterious stranger’s face: it was Paul Manafort. Manafort had served as a consultant to the Party of Regions for many years. He had just as much cause for celebration as the newly inaugurated president, since he was the mastermind behind the president’s victory. The two had worked together since 2004. After Yanukovych’s election defeat that year, Manafort was hired by him and they worked on four election campaigns (including one presidential and three parliamentary ones) together. The American consultant was recommended to Yanukovych by his business and political partner Rinat Akhmetov, who in turn was recommended by Oleg Deripaska, his Russian colleague from the circle of fellow oligarchs. That way Manafort passed from one person to another as a relay baton to later become one of the most influential players in the Ukrainian politics. The question is now if he ever abused his position. So-called “shadow accounting” documents I have seen show $400,000 in cash payments were made to him, which were intended to be spent on conducting exit polls. The documents show a further $812,000 to be paid to him for engaging international observers. And, these documents, which I reported on and which were the focus of a New York Times article this week, list a total of $12.7m of payments made to Manafort. Ukrainians are concerned about the theft of public money. We want the chain of corruption to end. That is why many are troubled that Manafort’s name has emerged in this investigation. It is not just these latest revelations that cast a shadow over Manafort’s name in Ukraine. Manafort was an advisor to President Yanukovych when he pursued a divisive electoral campaign, such as focusing on the alleged infringement of rights of the Russian-speaking population in Ukraine. This wasn’t an issue before, but after years of driving this idea into the heads of voters, the question of the Russian language has really become an important factor in Ukrainian politics. Subsequently, after the escape of Yanukovych in 2014, it was under the guise of protecting the Russian population that Putin invaded Crimea, violating the post-war balance of power in Europe. Manafort worked with Victor Yanukovych – one of the most notorious European politicians – for nearly 10 years. This is not a casual relationship between the client and the performer. Such long-term cooperation incorporates a general worldview and values. Now voters in America will have to ask themselves: are these values they want in their country?. Thanks for reading.

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