You're reading: EuroMaidan activists push boycott of Party of Regions’ businesses

Economic arguments can be particularly persuasive in political conflicts. Given the closeness of Ukrainian political parties to various business groups, the threat of revenue losses to them may be an effective way to influence parties.

This is the thought that EuroMaidan activists had when they initiated a boycott on goods and services provided by companies associated with the ruling Party of Regions.

In early December, a group of civic activists identifying themselves as Economic Resistance decided to target businesses owned by or are close to members of President Viktor Yanukovych’s Party of Regions or people within their circles. The idea quickly spread.

Sergiy Petrenko, CEO of Yandex Ukraine, one of the leaders in the local IT market, backed the boycott idea. “An honest person might not be able to get rid of criminals, but he or she doesn’t have to feel happy or be polite towards them. On the contrary, it’s necessary to boycott them,” Petrenko wrote in his blog.

Initially the list included less than 50 companies, but gradually it became longer as activists investigated property schemes behind certain brands and products. Thus, the January version of the list grew to more than 200 companies.

Banks on the boycott list include: PUMB, owned by Ukraine’s richest man Rinat Akhmetov; Brokbiznesbank, owned by rising young oligarch Serhiy Kurchenko; Nadra Bank, owned by billionaire Dymtro Fritash; and Bank Forum, owned by mogul Vadim Novinsky.

PUMB communications officer Anna Kokoba said that the declared boycott has not hurt business, adding that “PUMB does not participate in any political actions and does not provide support for any political party.”

But the bank’s owner, Akhmetov, does.

Anecdotal evidence suggests that the boycott works – at least to some degree. One bank, which is no longer affiliated with the Party of Regions and was mistakenly included in the December list of companies to ban, reported an outflow of deposits in western Ukraine as a result of the boycott.

Posters showing popular brands owned by businesspeople close to the pro-presidential ruling Party of Regions have spread online. “If you buy anything that surrounds me, you will be cursed,” says a woman in a traditional Ukrainian costume promoting the “National Boycott.”

Social networks are full of reports of people canceling their subscriptions to media owned by presidential supporters. Yuriy Andreev, a EuroMaidan activist, said that at least one breadmaker affiliated with the Party of Regions started using plain packaging for its products to counter the boycott.

Confectionery producer Konti, poultry producer Gavrylivski Kurchata and preserved foods company Veres also are among the boycotted companies. Members of the Party of Regions’ parliamentary faction Boris Kolesnikov, Yevhen Sigal and Novinsky, respectively, are owners of these entities. Konti, Gavrylivski Kurchata and Veres did not respond to the Kyiv Post’s requests for comments.

Automotive companies are not exempt from the boycott.

AIS and UkrAuto, major auto distribution companies, are there. The owners of these businesses – Dmytro Svyatash and Vasyl Poyarkov, who share ownership of AIS, and Tariel Vasadze, UkrAuto’s owner – are closely related to the Party of Regions.

AIS marketing manager Sergiy Borovyk told the Kyiv Post that the average Ukrainian is not politically motivated in their consumption choices concerning durable goods, adding that he does not expect the boycott will reduce the company’s revenues substantially.

Major media outlets also are on the boycott list, including Segodnya newspaper and Ukraina TV channel, which are controlled by Akhmetov. Kurchenko’s Forbes and Korrespondent and the largest TV holding – Inter – which is owned by Firtash and presidential chief of staff Serhiy Lyovochkin are also.

For those who take the boycott seriously, songs by Taisiya Povaliy, Volodymyr Gryshko and Nataliya Mogylevska are to be deleted from playlists, too, due to their affiliations to the ruling Regions Party.

Shakhtar football club fans are facing the tough decision to either support their team or the EuroMaidan protest, as the team is controlled by Akhmetov. What’s more, Yanukovych is a longtime Shakhtar fan.

While fans from Donetsk are not expected to follow the boycott demands concerning their favorite club, its supporters from other regions could struggle with the choice.

Kyiv Post associate business editor Ivan Verstyuk can be reached at [email protected].