You're reading: Political experts: Kalinin’s appointment as SBU chief a surprise

Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych's decision to appoint Ihor Kalinin as head of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has come as a surprise to Ukrainian political scientists.

"It’s hard for me to say anything with regard to this appointment, because the experts named other [candidates]," Director of Research and Branding Group Yevhen Kopatko said in an interview with Interfax-Ukraine on Friday.

"Obviously, this decision by the president was well-thought-out, because it took him a lot of time to take this decision – the time since [former SBU chief Valeriy] Khoroshkovsky was made finance minister," the analyst said.

"Ihor Kalinin is not the kind of person who was often named by experts, and I can say that for sure. This decision was quite unexpected for those people who gave comments on this appointment," Kopatko said.

Director of the Situations Modeling Agency Vitaliy Bala, in turn, said that the head of state most likely took the decision on Kalinin’s appointment as SBU on his own.

"All who tried to predict who will be appointed to certain posts faced an important point, which, by and large, changes the picture and suggestion – it all depends on the president. I mean one person – Viktor Fedorovych Yanukovych. I think that it is only he who knows his motives in this case regarding the appointment of the Security Service head," he said.

Bala declined to name the possible reasons for Kalinin’s appointment as SBU head.

"I don’t personally know the service record of the new SBU head, but given the fact that he has not recently worked in this structure, it probably indicates that after all this was not the main motive behind his appointment," he said.

"The personnel policy in the state largely determines the fulfillment of the stated goals – I mean the reforms that need to be conducted in the country. Professionals in their sphere should deal with these areas. It’s hard for me to judge whether Mr. Kalinin is a professional in the SBU," Bala said.