Language scandal, property seizure, and departure from Ukraine: where is former MP Gennady Balashov now, and what does he say about the war? (photo)

Many Ukrainian politicians are currently abroad, including former head of the Security Service of Ukraine Valery Khoroshkovsky and former people's deputy, leader of the "5.10" party, Gennady Balashov. This political figure was embroiled in several scandals and left Ukraine as criminal cases were initiated against him.

"Telegraph" sought to find out where Gennady Balashov is now and what he is doing. We discovered that he is talking about the war and Putin's regime.

Gennady Balashov's Career

The politician was born in Dnipropetrovsk, where he completed high school, then attended vocational school to train as a locksmith. In 1979, he joined the airborne troops for military service. After demobilization, Balashov enrolled at Dniprovsk State University, where he graduated from the Faculty of Economics.

In 1988, Gennady began his entrepreneurial activities. He owned the company "Verolla" and the first commercial consignment shop in Dnipro. In 2022, Balashov established the "Lipki Real Estate Agency." Additionally, in 2015, he launched a business in the USA.

Besides this, Balashov has authored two books, worked as a radio host, and organized the "School of Political Psychology," where he became a business trainer. He began his political career in 1993.

Gennady Balashov ran for the mayor of Dnipro in 1994, founded the "Beautiful Ukraine" party, and was elected to parliament in 1998, serving on the Public Council of Experts on Internal Policy under President Leonid Kuchma.

In 2014, he founded the "5.10" party and a year later ran for mayor of Kyiv, finishing in 11th place. In 2019, he also ran for the presidency but garnered only 0.17% of the votes.

Scandals Involving Gennady Balashov

The former Ukrainian people's deputy found himself at the center of a language scandal. In 2021, during a discussion of the language law on a television program, Balashov stated that he would fundamentally speak in Russian. The politician referred to as "creatures" those asking him to switch to Ukrainian.

Balashov claimed that Ukrainian culture "will not develop" in the Ukrainian language because "there is nowhere and no one to sell it" due to an alleged lack of demand. Such statements by the deputy were widely circulated by Russian media, leading to public outrage in Ukraine.

In 2013, the former people's deputy was involved in a scandal related to the construction in the buffer zone of St. Sophia of Kyiv. In 2021, criminal proceedings were opened against him under part 3 of Article 190 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (fraud). It was alleged that he "defrauded people of money, which he called investments in the construction of a luxury apartment building" located in this zone.

That same year, he got into a scuffle with investigator Kavun when Balashov appeared for a summons to receive charges in a new criminal case. However, it turned out that the charges had not yet been signed by the investigator.

Where Gennady Balashov Is Now and His Views on the War

In an interview with "Telegraph," the politician revealed that in 2021, criminal cases began to be actively initiated against him, accumulating to seven since 2016, with three cases reaching court. He tried to resolve these issues, but the court took a long time to schedule hearings, and when the war started and electricity was cut off, Balashov left for Florida (USA).

According to him, after he left, he began receiving summonses, and hearings were supposed to take place remotely, but the cases were delayed for various reasons and circumstances. Soon, Balashov was declared wanted.

In 2021, by court decision, 18 properties belonging to the politician in Kyiv, estimated at 200 million hryvnias, were seized. Currently, his "5.10" party operates in Ukraine but is in a "sleeping mode."

Gennady Balashov actively runs his channel, accumulating 100-150 thousand views on his content daily, living off monetization. However, given that life in America is expensive, he has to save.

Regarding the war, Balashov stated back in 2014 on the EuroMaidan stage that Putin started a war against Ukraine and that it could be stopped by cutting off Russian gas supplies to Europe through our territory. At that time, a criminal case was initiated against him in Russia for allegedly making public calls for the killing of Russians.

Now the former people's deputy believes that Putin has two goals. The first is to prevent color revolutions, and the second is the desire to transfer power by inheritance. Balashov also asserts that the division of Ukraine was supposedly planned 20 years ago and believes that the language issue divides our nation.

"Telegraph" decided to find out where former President of Ukraine Leonid Kuchma is now and what he is doing. At the beginning of the war, he was offered to evacuate abroad.