Wladimir Sheludchenko

Date of Birth: 08.07.1949

Place of Birth. Education. Originally from Makejewka, Donetsk Oblast. In 1997, he obtained a degree as a mechanical engineer from the Donetsk Polytechnic Institute. Doctor of Technical Sciences: he defended his dissertation on the topic 'Methods for Increasing the Efficiency of Gas Transport Systems and Energy-Efficient Technologies in Heat and Gas Supply.'

Career. During the Soviet period, Wladimir Sheludchenko gained experience in communist work. He graduated from the Higher School of the Central Committee of the Communist Party and worked as the secretary of the party committee of the Horliwske Chimgornische Trust and the Donetsk regional committee of the Communist Party, as well as the Second Secretary of the Dobropillja party committee. In the last years of the USSR, he was the head of the regional administration for municipal economy in Donetsk and the First Deputy Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Donetsk Regional Council. Then, in 1991, he moved to the energy sector - he became the chairman of the board of the Donetskoblenergo (where he worked until 1997). He was the First Deputy Chairman of the State Committee for Oil, Gas, and Oil Refining Industry. From 2003 to 2005, he held the position of First Deputy Chairman of the Board of the NJSC Naftogaz Ukraine under Yuriy Boyko, the then Minister of Energy. He lost his seat after the 'Orange Revolution,' two months after the appointment of Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko.

Rise and Resignation. In August 2006, after the formation of the governing coalition and the government under Viktor Yanukovych, the energy manager from Donetsk, a member of the Party of Regions and allegedly responsible for the energy sector, became highly sought after for the position of head of Naftogaz. He replaced Oleksiy Boshchykov, who had only led the company for three months after the resignation of 'Orange' Oleksiy Ivchenko. Wladimir Sheludchenko immediately stated that the main task of Naftogaz was to ensure a safe and uninterrupted gas supply to consumers. This was complemented by the Energy Minister: According to Yuriy Boyko, the new management of Naftogaz should primarily diversify the energy supply of Ukraine. The Minister also expressed confidence that the company will continue to be a 'backbone of our economy,' which, in his opinion, had been significantly undermined during the tenure of Oleksiy Ivchenko, both by the ruling anti-crisis coalition and the opposition represented by the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc.

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Naftogaz acquired 49.9% of the shares of Donetskoblenergo, linked to the fugitive Kurchenko Business.

Nevertheless, Wladimir Sheludchenko was not long the 'Lord and Master' of Naftogaz. Already in February 2007, he resigned as head of Naftogaz - officially at his 'own request.' According to expert Vladimir Saprykin, director of energy programs at the Razumkov Center for Economic and Political Studies, one of the key problems Wladimir Sheludchenko faced was the difficult financial and economic situation of Naftogaz (he returned to the company at a time that was by no means better). Another (also very significant) problem was that there was no common approach to solving problems in the energy sector within the government and the ruling coalition, and there was a lack of unified pro-coalition leadership in the fuel and energy complex. It was well-known that state power in the energy sector was represented by several centers of influence: in particular, by the 'not willing to do' Deputy Prime Minister from Donetsk Andriy Klyuyev and the 'not from Donetsk' head of the Ministry of Fuel and Energy, Yuriy Boyko. As the head of Naftogaz, Wladimir Sheludchenko, according to the expert, neither improved nor worsened the situation of the company - there was simply too little time for significant changes in either direction.

Immediately on the day of his resignation, Deputy Prime Minister Mykola Azarov reported at a press conference that Wladimir Sheludchenko had expressed the desire to leave several times recently, but Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych asked him to stay. Regarding the reasons for his resignation, Mykola Azarov noted that Naftogaz was currently not a candy in silver paper. In the state in which it was handed over to us, this is a very serious problem... Therefore, I can understand what prompted Wladimir Sheludchenko to depart, so to speak.' The high-ranking government member did not forget to praise the outgoing head for the success that he had managed to stabilize the condition of Naftogaz together with the government. He expressed confidence: after his resignation, the former head of Naftogaz would not fall out of the personnel turnover of the government coalition. 'He will work in our system, will work in the government system. This is not in question', emphasized Mykola Azarov. But so far, the 'departed' has not 'spurted' into any important state position.

Wladimir Sheludchenko was succeeded as head of Naftogaz by Yevhen Bakulin. Experts believe he is the work of Energy Minister Yuriy Boyko.

07.07.2022