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Heorhiy Kyrpa)
Heorhiy Kirpa (Ukrainian: Георгій Кірпа) (July 20, 1946 in Klubivka, Khmel'nyts'ka oblast' - December 27, 2004 in Bortnychi, near Kyiv) was a Ukrainian industrial manager, statesman and politician. He was the long-lasting head of Ukrainian railways.
Ukrzaliznytsia career
As general director of the Ukrainian national railroad company Ukrzaliznytsia he showed himself more effective than many of the post-Communist bosses. When he took on the job, it was estimated that Ukrzaliznytsias received cash credits for only 15% of the transportation services it rendered: the rest were taken in kind. Only a third of its earnings were retained by the corporation. Kirpa eliminated the intermediaries who were raking off a percentage on all transactions, and at the same time he raised tariffs to make the railroads profitable, moves that did not make him popular among entrenched populist leaders, though under his regime the workers' salary arrears were brought up to date.
Political career
In May 2002, Kirpa was appointed Minister of Transport by President Leonid Kuchma. In a publicly debated move in 2003, the President placed paramilitary railroad armed forces under the direction of Kirpa. He was a staunch supporter of Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych, who was defeated in the fiercely contested 2004 presidential elections.
Controversial death
Heorhiy Kirpa was found shot dead at his holiday home in Bortnychi just outside of Kyiv, December 27, 2004. The police suspect he committed suicide, and have started an investigation under the article coercion to commit suicide. Officials in the ministry link the death with malversation of public funds during the construction of a new bridge over the Dnipro river in Kyiv. Some suspect that Kirpa, who supplied Yanukovych with free trains to bring miners from Donbas to Kyiv in order to intimidate the opposition during the Orange Revolution, now hesitated to do so, fearing either the possible outcome or simply being brought to justice after the opposition assumed power.
External links
The content of this page is retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heorhiy_Kyrpa under GFDL
