The sanctioned oligarch and former People's Deputy Vadim Novinsky , together with People's Deputy Artem Dmitruk and a number of other people, joined a special reconnaissance and subversive operation to discredit the President of Ukraine and the Ukrainian authorities.
Former Deputy Minister of Information Policy of Ukraine and expert on information warfare and competitive intelligence Dmitry Zolotukhin wrote about this on his Facebook page.
According to him, on October 16 of this year, the London law firm Amsterdam & Partners LLP, which represents the interests of Vadim Novinsky and is paid with his money, signed an agreement on lobbying the interests of the UOC-MP with the American lobbyist William Whitney Bjork-White.
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Don't let bill No. 8371 be
The corresponding decision to hire the services of a law firm and an American lobbyist was made at the Holy Synod of the UOC-MP, as reported in the pro-Russian church itself.
The interests of pro-Russian priests will be represented by Novinsky’s lawyer Robert Amsterdam, and the purpose of the services is to prevent the passage of bill No. 8371 in the Verkhovna Rada.
“London lawyers and American lobbyists are tying this law to issues of protecting religious freedom, which is an absolute lie. They also accuse the Ukrainian authorities of opportunism and propaganda against the henchmen of the FSB gunman Gundyaev.
Bjork-White has already written an angry article on the pages of the American political publication The Hill, which is read in Congress and the Senate. Bjork-White's services are not cheap. Hourly pay at the rate of $1.4 thousand per hour. Amsterdam & Partners LLP so far have allegedly officially paid him $7 thousand,” Zolotukhin said.
We are talking about bill No. 8371, which talks about the ban on religious organizations associated with Russia. On October 19, the Verkhovna Rada supported this draft law in the first reading with the votes of 267 people's deputies.
It is noteworthy that, according to the decision of the Sixth Administrative Court of Appeal, the UOC-MP was united with the Local Orthodox Churches through the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC). In particular, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate is guided in its governance by the resolutions of the Council of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church of October 25-27, 1990.
Dmitry Zolotukhin points out that in addition to information in The Hill, Bjork-White also contacted the US Department of Religious Freedom, US Senator from Georgia Jon Ossoff, the White House, as well as the offices of Senators Marco Rubio and Jeanne Shagin.
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— If Novinsky organizes such a festival in the USA and Great Britain with his own (or Russian) money, just imagine how much he pays Dmitruk?! That is why a law on lobbying is also needed in Ukraine,” Zolotukhin emphasized.
In turn, the clergy of the UOC-MP noted that the international law firm agreed to provide assistance on a charitable basis.
Lobbying of the UOC MP
In a commentary to ICTV Facts, political scientist Vladimir Fesenko explains that lobbying occurs in such a way that interested parties are looking for a lobbying company in Washington, whose representatives provide services to promote certain ideas among American congressmen and other high-ranking officials.
– It (the lobbying company – Ed .) provides appearances by relevant people on television channels and publications in leading American media. The traditional and most important component is meetings with congressmen and senators. Possibly certain events on the grounds of the US Congress. It doesn’t matter whether it could be some room or a basement, the main thing is that it’s in the Congress building, because that’s how it will be presented,” explains the political scientist.
The objectives of the lobbying campaign are to create a political environment, as well as create information pressure on congressmen and leading media in the United States, so that a media and political effect arises.
According to Ukrainian political scientist Vladimir Fesenko, what is important is what the goal of this lobbying campaign is.
– Sometimes the goal is to create a positive image and there was some support (for certain ideas or persons – Ed .) … Sometimes, when lobbying campaigns are carried out in support of South Korea or Israel, we can talk about specific decisions – funding programs, or signing a specific agreement and the like.
In the case of the UOC-MP, I think that the main driving force of this campaign is Novinsky, and the bet is on discrediting the very decision on this bill and so that through the United States, namely through the White House or Congress, force Ukraine to either refuse this bill (tell our government representatives that this is a violation of democracy, and that such a bill cannot be implemented), or it needs to be radically redone so that there is no possibility of a legal ban on the UOC-MP. That’s the point of such a lobbying campaign,” explains the expert.
At the same time, Fesenko is confident that the White House and the State Department have an idea and understanding of who former People’s Deputy Vadim Novinsky is, so there will probably be no result.
However, the result may be a delay on the part of the American partners in making a final decision on the bill. For example, a draft law may be stalled between the first and second reading, and then it will be postponed, for example, if, for example, Republican Donald Trump wins the elections in the United States.
Another factor that lobbyists can use to promote the protection of the image of the UOC-MP in the United States may be that Americans are a fairly religious nation, Fesenko believes.
– They (lobbyists – Ed .) meet with congressmen, go around the American media. Novinsky is betting on discrediting the very idea of the bill. That supposedly this is not a fight against the pro-Moscow church, but this is a fight against religion. Since Americans are a fairly religious nation, such an “encroachment” on freedom of speech and the opportunity to engage in religious activities is unacceptable for them, the political scientist believes.
Regarding People’s Deputy Dmitruk, Fesenko points out that in the Ukrainian parliament there are still many people’s representatives who defend the interests of the pro-Russian church of the UOC-MP.
