Mykola Melnychenko
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(Major) Mykola Melnychenko ( uk, Микола Іванович Мельниченко, born 18 October 1966 in
Vasylkiv Vasylkiv (, uk, Васильків, lit=, translit=Vasylʹkiv, yi, וואַסלקעוו, Vasilikev) is a city located on the Stuhna River in Obukhiv Raion, Kyiv Oblast (province) in central Ukraine. It hosts the administration of Vasylkiv urb ...
,
Ukrainian SSR The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic ( uk, Украї́нська Радя́нська Соціалісти́чна Респу́бліка, ; russian: Украи́нская Сове́тская Социалисти́ческая Респ ...
) was a bodyguard of
Leonid Kuchma Leonid Danylovych Kuchma ( uk, Леоні́д Дани́лович Ку́чма; born 9 August 1938) is a Ukrainian politician who was the second president of Ukraine from 19 July 1994 to 23 January 2005. Kuchma's presidency saw numerous corru ...
(
President of Ukraine The president of Ukraine ( uk, Президент України, Prezydent Ukrainy) is the head of state of Ukraine. The president represents the nation in international relations, administers the foreign political activity of the state, condu ...
), an officer of the
State Security Administration The State Security Service ( hr, Služba državne sigurnosti, sr, Служба државне безбедности; mk, Служба за државна безбедност; sl, Služba državne varnosti), also known by its original name ...
. Between 1998 and 2000 Melnychenko allegedly recorded numerous conversations that took place in Kuchma's office before fleeing abroad with the secretly taped recordings. The publication of these recordings in 2000 caused a major
scandal A scandal can be broadly defined as the strong social reactions of outrage, anger, or surprise, when accusations or rumours circulate or appear for some reason, regarding a person or persons who are perceived to have transgressed in some way. Th ...
in Ukraine (known as the
Cassette Scandal The Cassette Scandal ( uk, Касетний скандал, Russian: Кассетный скандал, also known as Tapegate or Kuchmagate) was a Ukrainian political scandal in November 2000 in which Ukrainian president Leonid Kuchma was caugh ...
), which dramatically affected the country's domestic and foreign policy. Melnychenko's principal accusations against Kuchma (supposedly confirmed by the recordings) are the ordering of the kidnapping and murder of journalist
Georgiy Gongadze Georgiy Ruslanovych Gongadze ka, გიორგი რუსლანის ძე ღონღაძე, Giorgi Ruslanis dze Ghonghadze (21 May 1969 – 17 September 2000) was a Georgian-Ukrainian journalist and film director who was kid ...
. The
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
government became involved after one of the records revealed the alleged transfer of an advanced Ukrainian
radar Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, we ...
system ''
Kolchuha The Kolchuga (Кольчуга ''Chainmail'') passive sensor is an electronic-warfare support measures system developed in the Soviet Union and manufactured in Ukraine. Its detection range is limited by line-of-sight but may be up to for very hi ...
'' to
Saddam Hussein Saddam Hussein ( ; ar, صدام حسين, Ṣaddām Ḥusayn; 28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003. A leading member of the revolutio ...
's
Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...
. Hundreds of other allegations are based on the recordings.


Biography

Mykola Melnychenko was born in the village of Zapadynka,
Kyiv Oblast Kyiv Oblast ( uk, Ки́ївська о́бласть, translit=Kyïvska oblast), also called Kyivshchyna ( uk, Ки́ївщина), is an oblast (province) in central and northern Ukraine. It surrounds, but does not include, the city of Kyiv, w ...
(now outskirt of
Vasylkiv Vasylkiv (, uk, Васильків, lit=, translit=Vasylʹkiv, yi, וואַסלקעוו, Vasilikev) is a city located on the Stuhna River in Obukhiv Raion, Kyiv Oblast (province) in central Ukraine. It hosts the administration of Vasylkiv urb ...
) to a family of
coal miners People have worked as coal miners for centuries, but they became increasingly important during the Industrial revolution when coal was burnt on a large scale to fuel stationary and locomotive engines and heat buildings. Owing to coal's strategic ro ...
moved from the Donbas. He graduated from the Kyiv Military Institute of Control and Signals in
Kyiv Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the seventh-most populous city in Europe. Kyi ...
and became a
KGB The KGB (russian: links=no, lit=Committee for State Security, Комитет государственной безопасности (КГБ), a=ru-KGB.ogg, p=kəmʲɪˈtʲet ɡəsʊˈdarstvʲɪn(ː)əj bʲɪzɐˈpasnəsʲtʲɪ, Komitet gosud ...
communications protection In telecommunications, communications protection is the application of communications security (COMSEC) measures to telecommunications systems in order to: (a) deny unauthorized access to sensitive unclassified information Information is a ...
expert. In 1992, soon after the collapse of
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
, Melnychenko started his career in
Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
's
State Security Administration The State Security Service ( hr, Služba državne sigurnosti, sr, Служба државне безбедности; mk, Служба за државна безбедност; sl, Služba državne varnosti), also known by its original name ...
(formerly the 9th Directorate of the Committee for State Security (KGB)). Later, he joined President
Leonid Kuchma Leonid Danylovych Kuchma ( uk, Леоні́д Дани́лович Ку́чма; born 9 August 1938) is a Ukrainian politician who was the second president of Ukraine from 19 July 1994 to 23 January 2005. Kuchma's presidency saw numerous corru ...
's team of bodyguards and at the time of the scandal, Melnychenko held the rank of Major. His main duty was to protect the President's office against possible
eavesdropping Eavesdropping is the act of secretly or stealthily listening to the private conversation or communications of others without their consent in order to gather information. Etymology The verb ''eavesdrop'' is a back-formation from the noun ''eaves ...
. Melnychenko is divorced with one daughter.


The 'Cassette Scandal'

On November 28, 2000, Ukrainian politician
Oleksandr Moroz Oleksandr Oleksandrovych Morozrussian: Алекса́ндр Алекса́ндрович Моро́з, translit=Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Moroz (born 29 February 1944) is a Ukrainian politician. He was the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada twice, ...
publicly accused President Kuchma of involvement in the murder of Gongadze, naming Melnychenko as the source of information and playing selected recordings to journalists, starting the 'Cassette Scandal'. Days earlier Melnychenko had fled Ukraine to
Ostrava Ostrava (; pl, Ostrawa; german: Ostrau ) is a city in the north-east of the Czech Republic, and the capital of the Moravian-Silesian Region. It has about 280,000 inhabitants. It lies from the border with Poland, at the confluences of four riv ...
in the
Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...
, where he left several bags containing dozens of CDs storing thousands of digital recordings. Melnychenko left Ukraine covertly with his family, breaking an official prohibition on leaving the country. Melnychenko claimed that he acted alone when recording the President's conversations and then publishing them abroad. According to Melnychenko, he put an amateur digital
dictaphone Dictaphone was an American company founded by Alexander Graham Bell that produced dictation machines. It is now a division of Nuance Communications, based in Burlington, Massachusetts. Although the name "Dictaphone" is a trademark, it has ...
under a sofa in Kuchma's office and was changing it every time he inspected the room. As the Major states, he was motivated purely by his disillusionment with what he perceived as the extremely corrupt nature of Kuchma's
regime In politics, a regime (also "régime") is the form of government or the set of rules, cultural or social norms, etc. that regulate the operation of a government or institution and its interactions with society. According to Yale professor Juan Jo ...
and "decided to document evidences of crimes" committed by the President. After the disappearance of
Georgiy Gongadze Georgiy Ruslanovych Gongadze ka, გიორგი რუსლანის ძე ღონღაძე, Giorgi Ruslanis dze Ghonghadze (21 May 1969 – 17 September 2000) was a Georgian-Ukrainian journalist and film director who was kid ...
, he supposedly decided to publish the recordings and protect his life. Then Melnychenko turned to his political sympathizer Oleksander Moroz for help, and received it. Later, Melnychenko moved to the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
and received
political asylum The right of asylum (sometimes called right of political asylum; ) is an ancient juridical concept, under which people persecuted by their own rulers might be protected by another sovereign authority, like a second country or another ent ...
there. His tapes were eventually made available to the United States
intelligence service An intelligence agency is a government agency responsible for the collection, analysis, and exploitation of information in support of law enforcement, national security, military, public safety, and foreign policy objectives. Means of informatio ...
s and examined to determine their
authenticity Authenticity or authentic may refer to: * Authentication, the act of confirming the truth of an attribute Arts and entertainment * Authenticity in art, ways in which a work of art or an artistic performance may be considered authentic Music * A ...
and content. The authenticity of the whole file of tapes remains officially unconfirmed. However, U.S.
forensic Forensic science, also known as criminalistics, is the application of science to criminal and civil laws, mainly—on the criminal side—during criminal investigation, as governed by the legal standards of admissible evidence and criminal p ...
experts have officially analyzed the section of tapes concerning
Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...
issues and found it authentic. The
Ukrainian Ukrainian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Ukraine * Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe * Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine * So ...
authorities have issued an international
search warrant A search warrant is a court order that a magistrate or judge issues to authorize law enforcement officers to conduct a search of a person, location, or vehicle for evidence of a crime and to confiscate any evidence they find. In most countries, ...
for Melnychenko, claiming that he is an 'important witness' and possible traitor of state secrets. However, no evidence of forced return or assassination efforts against Melnychenko were made public. Many experts and journalists find Melnychenko's story highly questionable. In particular, they argue that: * It is not clear why or how exactly Melnychenko started the operation. Being a career tech agent, he has never been involved in any kind of
intelligence Intelligence has been defined in many ways: the capacity for abstraction, logic, understanding, self-awareness, learning, emotional knowledge, reasoning, planning, creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving. More generally, it can be des ...
, analysis or criminal investigation. Thus, he was unlikely to have information on the President's committing
judicial The judiciary (also known as the judicial system, judicature, judicial branch, judiciative branch, and court or judiciary system) is the system of courts that adjudicates legal disputes/disagreements and interprets, defends, and applies the law ...
ly proven crimes. * The means of recording described by Melnychenko seems odd, both in technical and operative terms. Indeed, it is impossible to record about 500 hours of conversations by simply changing amateur
dictaphone Dictaphone was an American company founded by Alexander Graham Bell that produced dictation machines. It is now a division of Nuance Communications, based in Burlington, Massachusetts. Although the name "Dictaphone" is a trademark, it has ...
once a day. Melnychenko's former commanding officers argue that even a very small device would be easily discovered during routine searches of the room conducted by several agents. * The original device(s) used for recording, as well as the full file of recordings, have never been presented to journalists or Ukrainian prosecutors. Besides, Melnychenko should have known that a recording copied from digital recorder will not be found authentic, making the whole idea of "documenting evidences" a nonsense. Nevertheless, experts and politicians analyzing the recordings agree that at least some of them are real, judging by known voices, speaking manners and confidential details mentioned. A few politicians, including Kuchma himself, have officially claimed they recognize their own voices on the tapes. However, the President and his supporters have always denied the authenticity of the body of conversations recorded, calling them a "
montage Montage may refer to: Arts and entertainment Filmmaking and films * Montage (filmmaking), a technique in film editing * ''Montage'' (2013 film), a South Korean film Music * Montage (music), or sound collage * ''Montage'' (Block B EP), 201 ...
". On the other hand, in 2002 Bruce Koenig, of the US forensic firm
Bek Tek Bek or BEK may refer to: People * Khagan Bek, the title of the king of the Khazars * Beck (Bek David Campbell; born 1970), Beck Hansen, American singer, songwriter, and musician * Bek (sculptor) or Bak, an ancient Egyptian sculptor * Bruce Eric ...
, a former worker in the
FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, t ...
's forensic laboratory, examined the recordings and concluded that there were no signs of them having been doctored.


Events following the scandal

After he received asylum, Melnychenko started to become actively involved in
Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
's
politics Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that stud ...
and
foreign relations A state's foreign policy or external policy (as opposed to internal or domestic policy) is its objectives and activities in relation to its interactions with other states, unions, and other political entities, whether bilaterally or through m ...
, making comments for
media Media may refer to: Communication * Media (communication), tools used to deliver information or data ** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising ** Broadcast media, communications delivered over mass e ...
and writing books based on his records. In 2004, Volodymyr Tsvil, a Ukrainian businessman and former KGB officer who supposedly assisted Melnychenko in his escape and further accommodation in the West, publicly accused him of not revealing certain details of the case. On March 1, 2005 the criminal case against Melnychenko for "the disclosure of state secrets, abuse of office and using counterfeit documents" was closed. Melnychenko tried to run in the 2010 Ukrainian presidential election but was not registered as a candidate because he did not pay the mandatory election deposit of 2.5 million hryvnya. On December 6, 2009 Melnychenko accused
Volodymyr Lytvyn Volodymyr Mykhailovych Lytvyn ( uk, Володи́мир Миха́йлович Литви́н, ; born April 28, 1956) is a Ukrainian politician best known for being Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada, the Ukrainian parliament. Having previously se ...
of ordering the murder of journalist
Georgiy Gongadze Georgiy Ruslanovych Gongadze ka, გიორგი რუსლანის ძე ღონღაძე, Giorgi Ruslanis dze Ghonghadze (21 May 1969 – 17 September 2000) was a Georgian-Ukrainian journalist and film director who was kid ...
in 2000. A spokesperson for Lytvyn dismissed the claims as part of the 2010 Ukrainian presidential election campaign. On July 29, 2011 the criminal case against Melnychenko originally closed on March 1, 2005 was reopened. In October 2011 an arrest warrant against him was issued for "evading investigation and preventing the establishment of truth".Prosecutors: Court orders arrest of former major Melnychenko
Kyiv Post The ''Kyiv Post'' is the oldest English-language newspaper in Ukraine, founded in October 1995 by Jed Sunden. History American Jed Sunden founded the ''Kyiv Post'' weekly newspaper on Oct. 18, 1995 and later created KP Media for his holdings. ...
(10 November 2011)
According to Ukrainian press Melnychenko was living in the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
at the time, while he claimed he was in
Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
; he said he lived there because "there was a plan to physically exterminate me". In late March 2010 the investigation into Melnychenko was suspended because his location had not been established (Melnychenko himself claimed he was living in the United States). In October 2012, Melnychenko was briefly detained and then released by the law enforcement services of Ukraine.Court orders arrest warrant for Mykola Melnychenko
/ref>


See also

*
Cassette Scandal The Cassette Scandal ( uk, Касетний скандал, Russian: Кассетный скандал, also known as Tapegate or Kuchmagate) was a Ukrainian political scandal in November 2000 in which Ukrainian president Leonid Kuchma was caugh ...


References


External links


Official personal web site
only *Media publications dossiers on Melnychenko by:
Ukrayinska Pravda



Korrespondent.net
*
Ukrainian Weekly ''The Ukrainian Weekly'' is the oldest English-language newspaper of the Ukrainian diaspora in the United States, and North America. Founded by the Ukrainian National Association, and published continuously since October 6, 1933, archived copies ...
article
(2003)(2002)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Melnychenko, Mykola 1966 births Living people People from Vasylkiv KGB officers Security Service of Ukraine officers Ukrainian emigrants to the United States