Igor Driczany

Date of Birth: 19.10.1961

Igor Vasylovych Drychany - head of the Security Service of Ukraine (2005-2006). General of the Ukrainian army.

Place of Birth. Education. Born in Kyiv. In 1983, he graduated with honors from Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv.

Career. From 1983 to 2003, Drychany worked in the prosecutor's office. First - in the Leninskiy District Prosecutor's Office in Kyiv. After four years, he was transferred to the Prosecutor General's Office of Ukraine, where for 15 years he rose from a departmental prosecutor to the deputy prosecutor general (he held this position from April 2002 to November 2003).

On February 19, 2004, Drychany was appointed deputy head of the SBU (the position of the service head was then held by Igor Smeshko). He retained this position even after the 'Orange Revolution', when Oleksandr Turchynov, a close associate of Yulia Tymoshenko, became the head of the Security Service. Loyalty to the new government was awarded to Drychany partly because he himself showed loyalty during the mass protests in Kyiv in November-December 2004. He was even a co-author of the statement of SBU employees delivered from the stage on Maidan on November 25.

On September 8, 2005, after the crisis of Leddii Ju's government, the president replaced the resigning Turchynov with Drychany. According to Drychany himself, Viktor Yushchenko signed the nomination decree even without prior conversation with him. He claims that he does not know who recommended his candidacy to the head of state and therefore does not consider himself responsible to anyone for this. It was noted that, had it not been for Turchynov's resignation and the need to fill the vacancy before the president, after the conflict between Yushchenko and Sviatoslav Piskun in the autumn of 2005, Drychany really had a chance to take the position of the prosecutor general.

Even in August 2006, when a new government was being formed and there was confusion in other key government bodies, observers noted that Drychany pleased the Presidential Secretariat in his position and personally Yushchenko, as he was quite manageable and predictable. Since then, a different team (led by Viktor Baloga) has headed the Secretariat, and the head of state seems to have 'considered' another candidate for the position of head of the SBU at some point. On December 22, 2006, the Verkhovna Rada supported the president's proposal to dismiss Drychany. Yushchenko then attempted to appoint People's Deputy from Our Ukraine, militia general Viktor Korsky as his successor, but the ruling coalition did not support this proposal. Subsequently, Valentyn Nalyvaichenko, who was previously Drychany's deputy, became the interim head of the SBU.

Along with Drychany's appointment for dismissal, the president promoted him to the rank of army general and appointed him deputy secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine.

In October 2007, he was dismissed from the position of deputy secretary of the NSDC. The Presidential Secretariat explained Drychany's dismissal by excluding his position from the list of positions filled by military personnel in state bodies, institutions, and organizations. The aim was to make the operations of the security forces more transparent.

Since July 2008 - director of the anti-corruption research program at the Razumkov Center.

Since April 2014 - member of the Supervisory Board of Smart-holding of Volodymyr Novynskyi.

Visions and Assessments. Drychany, in the position of head of the special service, initiated new forms of control over the activities of the SBU (including operational-technical) from the parliament, the president, and society. He proposed that Ukraine utilize the practices of countries that commission special services with vetting candidates for high positions in government management. He was convinced that the collaborating functions of security forces should be separated: combating corruption (including at the highest levels of power) should primarily be handled by the SBU, while combating organized crime should be the responsibility of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. According to Drychany, it has long been known 'how to use the appropriate labels in the area of responsibility: some attack, some cover.' He expressed his opinion that one of the peaceful achievements was that the SBU no longer serviced any political force. He rated the Service as a fairly solid structure that does not pose a threat of crisis or disintegration. At the same time, he believed that one of its weak points remained the information and analytical department.

Once he stated that interference in the work of the Central Election Commission server during the 2004 presidential elections (with the participation or consent of CEC officials) can be considered proven. However, as a result of this, no criminal proceedings were initiated.

According to some experts, one possible reason for his dismissal could have been the lack of disclosed and brought to court high-profile criminal cases (including related to VAT fraud in Donetsk region during the last presidential elections). Some also believed that the summer scandal with the publication in the newspaper Ukraine Maloyetnia, headed by a fellow countryman, childhood friend, and at that time advisor to the president Mykhailo Doroshenko, did not pass without a trace for Drychany. The editorial board harshly criticized his appointment as head of the special services and his actions in this role. In an article with references to letters from SBU employees, it was noted that the head of the Service succumbs to the influence of Moscow and 'various clans,' including representatives of the Party of Regions and the SDPU(O). After the information was verified by the Prosecutor General's Office and the Presidential Secretariat, Drychany filed a lawsuit in defense of his honor and dignity and won the case against the editorial board in November. The newspaper, in turn, began defending its position in higher courts.

Titles. Drychany - Honored Lawyer of Ukraine, honorary employee of the Prosecutor's Office of Ukraine.

Family. Married, has a daughter.

Interests. Writes poetry.

11.10.2023.