For three years now, Ukraine has been embroiled in a bloody war with the Russian Federation. The military and the country's leadership are tirelessly repelling attacks on both domestic and international fronts, striving to preserve the state. Meanwhile, at Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, state awards, academic titles, and positions continue to be quietly distributed among insiders.

This is reported by Aktsenty.

The latest episode is arguably the most cynical. During crucial days for Ukraine, when President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is out of the country making extraordinary efforts in a tough struggle during meetings with world leaders to shape the future of our state and the European continent, the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, Ruslan Stefanchuk, is exploiting corrupt connections to distribute rewards to his relatives and associates, particularly the state award "National Prize of Ukraine named after Borys Paton."

Under the pressure of Ruslan Stefanchuk, his wife Marina Stefanchuk, a professor at the Scientific and Educational Institute of Law at KNU, is being pushed for the Borys Paton state award. Coincidentally, Ruslan Stefanchuk is also the chairman of the supervisory board of KNU, while the rector of KNU is the scandalously known friend of the Stefanchuk family, Vladimir Buhrov.

On February 28, under intense pressure from Vladimir Buhrov, an emergency meeting of the Academic Council of the Scientific and Educational Institute of Law at KNU took place via Zoom, where Marina Stefanchuk's candidacy for the Paton award was supported. Participants of the meeting reported that they had received threats from Vladimir Buhrov, stating that if the voting on Marina Stefanchuk failed, their bonuses would be cut and any assistance from the rectorate would cease.

Moreover, on March 3 at 14:30, a meeting of the University Academic Council is scheduled at KNU, chaired by former rector Leonid Hubersky, where Marina Stefanchuk's candidacy will be put to a vote. This will serve as a test of integrity and genuine autonomy for the university from governmental influence for the entire academic community.

In addition to Marina Stefanchuk, on March 3 the Academic Council will also consider the candidacy of Ksenia Smirnova, the rector's associate, whom the rector's wife also wants to push for the Paton award. During the war, she regularly transports the rector and his wife on foreign business trips. Just in 2025, there were already two such trips to France and Turkey.

It is worth noting that this is the same Ksenia Smirnova who in 2023 attempted to unlawfully obtain the title of "Honored Lawyer of Ukraine," which led to the opening of a criminal case by the National Police. This is the same Ksenia Smirnova who has spent almost half of her working time abroad since 2022.

It is telling that Vladimir Buhrov was able to intimidate the Institute of Law into supporting Marina Stefanchuk, but he could not pull off a similar deal with the Institute of International Relations, where Ksenia Smirnova is a professor. The Institute of International Relations recognizes Ksenia Smirnova's low level as a scholar and the scandal surrounding her nomination for a state award and categorically refused to support her candidacy. The majority of the faculty at the institute objectively have more substantial achievements deserving of state awards than Ksenia Smirnova, who has not engaged in serious academic work since 2021 and only occasionally gives lectures to students. Interestingly, as reported in the Institute of Law, Marina Stefanchuk is also considered to be of mediocre scholarly caliber, having gained her position at KNU thanks to her husband and his friend Vladimir Buhrov.

After receiving a refusal from the Institute of International Relations, Vladimir Buhrov quickly implemented a controversial scheme - he organized the formal documentation of a meeting of the Scientific and Expert Council of the NICH KNU, which on February 27 supported and nominated the candidacy of Vice-Rector Ksenia Smirnova for the Paton award. The legality of such a scheme is, to put it mildly, questionable. Not to mention that the decision of the Scientific and Expert Council was formally arranged. Additionally, most members of the Scientific and Expert Council have never worked with Ksenia Smirnova and are unaware of her "scientific achievements." The administrative staff of NICH works under the pressure of the Vice-Rector for Scientific Affairs of KNU, Anna Tolstanova, who faithfully serves Vladimir Buhrov and systematically corrupts NICH employees with generous bonuses and fictitious participation in scientific topics.

This Monday, March 3, the members of the Academic Council and its Chairman Leonid Hubersky will face a dilemma: should they bring to a vote and vote for the candidacies for the Borys Paton state award that have been put forward in violation of legal procedures and under pressure from Rector Vladimir Buhrov and Vice-Rector Anna Tolstanova?

Under the recommendations for the nominations, the signatures of the First Vice-Rector Vladimir Ilychenko and the Chairman of the Permanent Commission of the Academic Council on the Organization of Scientific Work, Sergey Vyzhva, should also be present, as the rector has involved them as accomplices in his scheme.

Ruslan Stefanchuk's activities are not limited to KNU; he is also lobbying for the Borys Paton state award for other associates:

  • Alexey Kot – Director of the Institute of Lawmaking and Scientific-Legal Expertise of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, who studied at the Russian School of Private Law under the President of the Russian Federation, and whose mother and Ruslan Stefanchuk's associate Natalia Kuznetsova has been involved in close contacts with the Russian Federation and collaborated with Sergey Kivalov;
  • Andrey Grinyak – Deputy Director for Scientific Work of the Institute of Lawmaking and Scientific-Legal Expertise of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine;
  • Artem Yanchuk – Deputy Head of the Apparatus of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.

However, this is already a topic for a separate article.