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Wednesday, March 07, 2007

Sold! ChernoCo Auctions Off 279 Acres of Land to RosUkrEnergo Co-Owner?

Brothers in public relations distress should be helping each other out, shouldn’t they? Pravda quotes a Komersant report that traces the newly acquired 279-acre patch of municipal land to Dmytro Firtash, the presumptive owner of the 45 percent stake in the notorious RosUkrEnergo.

The City Hall has already taken credit for the Tuesday transaction, comparing it to the iconic reprivatization of Kryvorizhstal. However, beyond the thin veil of the “open bid,” which pitted TOV Baski Plyus-2004 (ТОВ Баскі плюс-2004) against Investbudservis (Інвестбудсервіс), the picture looks anything but transparent. Try finding any of these ghost bidders on Google.

Starting price: UAH 869,359,000 (USD 172,150,297)
Hammer price: UAH 999,763,000 (USD 197,972,871)
The proud winner: TOV Baski Plus-2004, reportedly controlled by Mr. Firtash

It’s time to place bets on whether the housing project being advertised will push down Kyiv real estate prices below London levels.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

check it out...
http://www.transnational-perspectives.org/transnational/articles/article184.pdf

dlw

Taras said...

Great and highly evocative article!:) Let me share some reflections with you.

When I was 24, we had the Orange Revolution, without a single incident of violence or vandalism on our part.

When I was 17, nonviolent resistance, the winning strategy behind the Civil Rights Movement, captured my imagination.

When I was 3, I saw Indira Gandhi as she and her entourage walked out of the Kyiv City Hall, months before her assassination.

In a world deeply divided by the Cold War, India maintained friendly relations with the Soviet Union while Pakistan enjoyed the support of the United States. Today, these former client states, stiff with nukes, have a Cold War of their own.

May the people of the world always look for ways to resolve their differences peacefully.

Anonymous said...

I think we need to value Gandhi's contribution while also acknowledging that his vision was incomplete and that the ongoing problems of his country help to confirm that.

Check out Levko's latest on how Tymo's been doing a decent job as opposition helping to foster tax reforms in various parts of Ukraine...

This is yet more signs of the changes likely to come about...

dlw

Taras said...

That's right. It doesn’t always pay to be a pacifist. “Si vis pace, para bellum.” (If you desire peace, prepare for war.) But that maxim in no way denigrates the influence of Gandhi’s beliefs inside and outside India.

As for the economic impact of Tymo’s tour, I can’t recall any significant battles lost or won. That wasn’t the plan. She boarded the bus not to leave a trail of satisfied customers who could live with the results of last year’s bait-and-switch elections, but to mobilize support for new elections.

Time is running out on Tymo, and, unfortunately, I don’t see much progress being made. I hope I’m wrong.

Anonymous said...

I think it also pays to pay attention to the extent Gandhi was influenced by Tolstoy.

I think Tolstoy's writings are worth revisiting and reflecting on...

dlw

Taras said...

Touché! I regret not having read "War and Peace" in high school, which hurt my Russian Lit grade in the Spring '96 semester. I think I'm old enough to clean my act:)

Someone always influences someone else. That’s how the world goes around.

And, by the way, you’ve helped me recall a lot of good things:)!