Vladimir Bugrov, Rector of Kyiv National University, has been dismissed from his post by order of the Ministry of Education and Science.
By order of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, Volodymyr Bugrov, Rector of Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, has been dismissed from his post. Following the termination of the rector’s powers, a person will be appointed to act as the university’s interim head.
Yesterday, the Kyiv Court of Appeal upheld the ruling of the Shevchenkivskyi District Court of Kyiv, which found Bugrov guilty of failing to declare the use of a 2015 Volkswagen Golf belonging to his son; as a result, he will be unable to stand in the new rector elections. Bugrov denied that he had used this car during the period requiring it to be included in his declaration, and stated that he owns both a private and a company car.
In December, the National Agency for Corruption Prevention (NAZK) issued a report on a possible administrative offence by the rector. It cited a sum of approximately 890,000 UAH relating to bank card top-ups and an undeclared car. Bugrov claimed that the car’s value had been determined based on an expert report without an inspection and had been stated as higher than it actually was.
In its report, the NACP cited the fact that the car, which belongs to the rector’s son, was refuelled and serviced at Bugrov’s expense. Bugrov himself refuted these arguments and stated that he considered such evidence to be dishonest.
On 16 March, the Shevchenkivskyi District Court of Kyiv found the official guilty under Part 4 of Article 172-6 of the Code of Administrative Offences for providing knowingly false information in his declaration and imposed a fine of 17,000 UAH. The proceedings regarding his and his wife’s failure to declare their fees were closed due to the absence of an administrative offence.
Activist Oleksiy Ksenich reported on Facebook that following the appeal court’s decision, the National Agency for Corruption Prevention (NACP) must enter Volodymyr Bugrov into the Unified State Register of Corrupt Officials. According to him, this means that Bugrov will no longer be able to hold office or stand in the upcoming elections for rector of Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv.
Volodymyr Bugrov has also been implicated in sexual scandals on multiple occasions. As a result, in early April, hundreds of students took to the streets to express their lack of confidence in him.
The protesters called on the university management to suspend the rector from his post pending an official investigation into his actions and to publicly explain the recent scandals. These relate to intimate photos and video material on the anonymous Telegram channel Bugrovleaks.
Footage lasting around half an hour shows a man, allegedly resembling Rector Bugrov, inside Lecture Theatre 105 of the Red Building, where the Centre for the Study of Ivan Franko’s Creative Heritage is located. The authors of the video claim that the rector engaged in intimate correspondence and sent explicit photos to female students and staff members of the university.
As previously reported by ThePublic, a conference of students at Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv supported an appeal to the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine regarding the temporary suspension of Rector Volodymyr Bugrov.
