Українська правда

''Ukrainska Pravda'' is a Ukrainian socio-political online media outlet founded by Heorhii Gongadze in April 2000. After Gongadze’s death in September 2000, the editorial team was led by co-founder Olena Prytula, who remained the editor-in-chief of Ukrainska Pravda until 2014, when she handed over the position to Sevhil Musaieva. In May 2021, the publication’s new owner became Tomas Fiala, CEO of Dragon Capital.

The murder of the founder Heorhii Gongadze in the fall of 2000, who had protested against increasing state censorship, drew international attention to the state of press freedom in Ukraine and sparked protests against President Leonid Kuchma in 2000–2001. In July 2016, Ukrainska Pravda journalist Pavlo Sheremet was killed in an explosion. As of 2020, the masterminds behind the murders of Gongadze and Sheremet remain unknown.

History

Early Years: 2000–2004

In December 1999, journalists Heorhii Gongadze, Olena Prytula, and Serhii Sholokh traveled to Washington to draw attention to the suppression of press freedom in Ukraine. According to Prytula, it was during this trip that the idea of creating a Ukrainian online news outlet emerged. In April 2000, Gongadze and Prytula founded Ukrainska Pravda. Gongadze became the editor-in-chief, while Prytula served as his deputy. The online project was launched the day after the nationwide referendum of 2000, which had been initiated by President Leonid Kuchma The initial funding for Ukrainska Pravda came from a sponsor close to the Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC), Yevhen Marchuk. However, this collaboration ended soon after the website published a critical article about Marchuk. Gongadze also negotiated potential funding with Hryhorii Surkis and a parliamentarian close to Oleksandr Volkov.

At the start of the project, Heorhii Gongadze and Olena Prytula worked alongside Darka Chepak and Yevhen Zakharov (Samoilenko). On September 4, 2000, Serhii Leshchenko joined Ukrainska Pravda.In the early hours of September 17, 2000, Gongadze was kidnapped and murdered. His killing, which followed his open protests against increasing state censorship, drew international attention to the state of press freedom in Ukraine. After his death, Olena Prytula took over leadership of the publication. The release of the Melnychenko tapes, which allegedly implicated President Leonid Kuchma in Gongadze’s murder, significantly boosted Ukrainska Pravda’s popularity. In 2004, the outlet played a crucial role in informing the public during the Orange Revolution, including publishing exit poll data that indicated electoral fraud in the presidential elections. During this period, Ukrainska Pravda was primarily funded through grants, including support from the National Endowment for Democracy and the International Renaissance Foundation.

Further Development: 2005–2014

In the summer of 2005, Ukrainska Pravda published a series of articles by Serhii Leshchenko titled “Andrii Yushchenko, Son of God?”, which scrutinized the lavish lifestyle of the newly elected President Viktor Yushchenko’s son, inconsistent with the family’s declared financial means. When Leshchenko asked Yushchenko about his son at a press conference, the president responded, “Act like a polite journalist and not like a hit man” According to many analysts, this incident negatively impacted Yushchenko’s image early in his presidency.

By 2005, Ukrainska Pravda had become financially self-sufficient through advertising revenue. Between 2005 and 2008, Olena Prytula expanded Ukrainska Pravda by launching news websites focused on the economy, entertainment, and local news, forming an integrated online media group. In December 2007, the newspaper Kommersant Ukraine reported that the Polish Gazeta Wyborcza publisher, Agora Group, had been in talks to purchase Ukrainska Pravda. According to the report, the estimated value of Ukrainska Pravda ranged between $5 million and $10 million.

In 2006, Mustafa Nayyem joined Ukrainska Pravda, forming a working duo with Serhii Leshchenko. In 2008, Leshchenko began investigating how Viktor Yanukovych transferred the state-owned Mezhyhiria residence into private ownership. When Nayyem questioned Yanukovych about Mezhyhiria during a 2011 press conference, the president responded, “I don’t envy you.” Although Nayyem later stated that he perceived the remark as a slip of the tongue, the organization Freedom House interpreted it as a threat from the president to the journalist.

Nayyem is credited as the first to call on Ukrainians to gather at Independence Square in November 2013 to protest the government of Mykola Azarov’s decision to postpone signing the Association Agreement with the European Union, marking the beginning of the Euromaidan movement. Initially, he helped coordinate the protests but later returned to journalism, covering events for the newly founded Hromadske TV

HOME


Content is Copyleft
Website design, code, and AI is Copyrighted (c) 2014-2017 by Stephen Payne


Consider donating to Wikimedia



As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases