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21.12.23 00:35 27 415 159

Zelenskyy’s longtime ally in "League of Laughter" Barulya turned out to be citizen of Russian Federation with business in occupied Crimea - Schemes. VIDEO

Ukrainian producer Naum Barulya is a long-time creative partner and associate of Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Until 2014, he was closely associated with the Russian KVN: he worked in Moscow with Alexander Maslyakov and organised the teams’ performances in Russia and Crimea. After the Revolution of Dignity, Naum Barulya returned to Kyiv and began working with the 95th Quarter, led by the future president. Together, they created the comedy show "League of Laughter" and produced a number of popular Ukrainian TV sitcoms, including "Country U", "Tanka and Volodka" and others.

According to Censor.NET, this is stated in the investigation of the Schemes project.

After winning the election, Zelenskyy brought his creative team to power. In particular, the producer's daughter, Iryna Borzova, was elected to the Verkhovna Rada from the Servant of the People party. Her husband, Naum Barulya's son-in-law, was promoted by Zelenskyy to the head of Vinnytsia region.

As "Schemes" found out, successful Ukrainian producer Naum Barulya has Russian Federation citizenship, which he has not renounced during the entire 10 years of war. He travelled to the occupied Crimea up to and including 2019, entering the Ukrainian peninsula with a Russian passport. Naum Barulya re-registered his property and restaurant business there under the occupiers' legislation and acquired new real estate. Despite the full-scale war, his restaurant business in Sudak continues to operate. And it pays hundreds of thousands of rubles to the budget of the aggressor country.

How does a Ukrainian producer with a Russian passport and an active business in Crimea manage to continue creating large-scale television shows in Ukraine? And even apply for tens of millions of budget hryvnias to finance his work?

An ally of Maslyakov and Zelenskyy

Naum Barulya was for a long time the "second man" in the "Club of the Funny and Clever" (KVN, Russian: КВН, a game-competition of teams in humour and jokes that originated in the Soviet Union - ed.

"Maslyakov saw me and took me first to Kyiv, then to Moscow as an administrator. Then I was promoted to general producer. I was very important on Channel One," Barulya said in 2020.

He worked in Moscow for 15 years, including eight years as CEO of the Russian company AMIK, which produces KVN.

"I spent very good, if not the best, years of my life in Moscow," the producer said in an interview.

After the outbreak of the war in Donbas and the occupation of Crimea, Barulya returned to Ukraine and entered into a partnership with the 95 Kvartal studio headed by Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Zelenskyy was one of the founders and regular hosts of the League of Laughter comedy tournament until his presidential candidacy.

The second area of cooperation between Barulya and Zelensky is the production of series for commercial TV channels.

Together they produced the sketch series Country U.

Other popular TV products of the creative tandem include the comedy series "Once Upon a Time in Poltava", "Once Upon a Time in Odesa", and "Tanka and Volodka".

In the formal legal plane, Barulya and Zelenskyy formalised their cooperation in the form of two companies.

The first is the Liga Smihu Production Centre, where, in addition to the two of them, the founders included screenwriters Serhiy Chivurin and Andriy Yakovlev, and brothers Serhiy and Boris Shefir, Zelenskyy's long-time partners in Kvartal.

The second is Drive Production, where, in addition to them, Timur Mindich, the junior partner of Ihor Kolomoisky, whose TV channels 1+1 and TET are created for, also became a co-owner.

After winning the presidential election in Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy withdrew from the ownership structure of these companies.

However, he still holds the intellectual property rights to the trademarks of their joint projects - "League of Laughter", "Games of Tricks", and "Country U".

During the presidential campaign, the "League of Laughter" was one of the tools of covert campaigning. This was recorded by the civil network "OPORA".

"This is not campaigning, this is a concert for a good mood. And you are smart people, you will decide for yourselves who to vote for," Zelenskyy's video with this message was shown at one of the League of Laughter's concerts in 2019.

Naum Barulya himself took part in the elections as a VIP campaigner.

"I have known the president for quite a few years. I had a long conversation with him when he wanted to run for office. And I consider him to be a deeply decent person," Barulya said in 2020 during a meeting with residents of the village of Vinnytski Khutory.

At the same time, the TV project "League of Laughter" was also used in the interests of Barulya's daughter, Iryna Borzova, a candidate for the Verkhovna Rada from the "Servant of the People" party.

Borzova was elected to the parliament. Her husband, Serhiy Borzov, has also risen in the ranks, and is now the head of the Vinnytsia Regional State Administration, appointed by Zelenskyy's decree.

Borzov also comes from the world of KVN - before his political career, he was an administrator at "AMIK Ukraine", where Naum Barulya and Oleksandr Maslyakov were among the founders. Later, Borzov became the director of the "Vinnytsia Peppers team" and the Ukrainian national KVN team.

Joint ventures with Maslyakov

Despite the Cabinet's initiative last year, Ukraine has not yet imposed sanctions on Oleksandr Maslyakov and his son

And this is despite the fact that Maslyakov Sr. publicly supports Russian President Vladimir Putin, has been his confidant for many years and personally attended Putin's inauguration in 2018.

Six months before the full-scale invasion, Maslyakov held another KVN game in occupied Yalta.

In 2023, his son, Oleksandr Maslyakov Jr, travelled to the occupied Donetsk region with two KVN teams and performed for the so-called "veterans of the armed conflict". Among the cities they visited was Mariupol, which was destroyed by the Russian army.

"Our people live here, and KVN has always united the country. The residents reacted well, the children were amazing," Maslyakov Jr. said of the trip.

At the same time, Maslyakov has several unclassified companies in Ukraine, and one Ukrainian partner is among their co-owners. This is Naum Barulya.

Thus, the Ukrainian producer remains a co-owner of three Ukrainian branches of KVN owned by Alexander Maslyakov and his son - "AMIK UKRAINE", "KVN TV" and "KVN PRODUCTION".

The firms have not yet been liquidated.

Barulya himself said in a comment to "Schemes" that the companies were "just hanging around" and had not conducted any financial transactions since 2014. But he did not explain why he had not yet withdrawn from the ownership structure of the Maslyakovs' companies.

- I can't do anything with them, because the founder is there... I need the founder's protocol, I don't communicate with them in any way," Naum Barulya told a journalist from "Schemes".

- So you can't leave the company without permission?

- To close the company - no. I know that they are hanging on, but they have not made a single transaction since 2014.

In fact, the consent of the other owners is required for the complete liquidation of the company. However, experts say that no legal obstacles prevented Naum Barulya from withdrawing from the company's ownership structure.

"What he could do is to file an application for withdrawal from the company, since he owns only 5% - it is done in a notarised form, submitted to the registrar, and he does not need the consent of the Russians. He simply submits it, and on this basis, he is simply excluded as the owner of these 5%," explains corporate lawyer Bohdan Borovyk.

"Schemes" asked the National Security and Defence Council why, despite Putin's public support and tour in Mariupol, Ukraine has not yet imposed sanctions on the Maslyakovs.

The National Security and Defence Council responded: they had not received any such proposals from the President, the Verkhovna Rada, the Cabinet of Ministers, the National Bank or the Security Service of Ukraine.

Despite the fact that

The Cabinet of Ministers twice passed resolutions asking the NSDC to impose sanctions on the Maslyakovs.
These appeals are available on the government's public website.
The Cabinet of Ministers confirmed this at the request of "Schemes".

Travelling to Crimea and a Russian passport

For a long time, Barulya was closely connected with Crimea. Despite the annexation, he did not break off business ties with it.

Its assets are concentrated in Sudak.

"I used to sell ice cream in Sudak, in a stall. Then I bought the stall. Then I rented a restaurant. Then I bought the restaurant after 4 years," Barulya described the development of his business in Crimea.

After the annexation of Crimea, the producer continued to travel to the occupied peninsula.

In the summer of 2014, after the illegal referendum and the so-called "annexation of Crimea to the Russian Federation", the producer posted a video on his Facebook page showing him relaxing at his then hotel-restaurant "Parus" in Sudak.

Barulya himself said in a comment to "Schemes" that he had last visited the occupied Crimea in 2016.

- "When was the last time you were in Crimea?" asked the journalist of "Schemes".

- I don't remember anymore," Barulya replied.

- This is after 2014, right?

- We went to my parents' house, in 2015 or 2016, I don't remember.

- You mean you haven't been away since then?

- No.

However, according to "Scheme's" sources with access to the Russian Interior Ministry's Magistral system, which records information on crossing the Russian state border, Naum Barulya travelled to Crimea at least until 2019.

And every time he entered the occupied Ukrainian peninsula with a Russian passport.

Ukrainian producer is a citizen of the Russian Federation

As the "Schemes" found out, Naum Barulya is a citizen of the Russian Federation.

The journalists managed to establish that in April 2009, the Russian migration service issued Naum Barulya with a Russian passport, the producer was then 49 years old. At the time, Barulya lived in Moscow and worked as the CEO of the "AMIK" company. This document is still valid.

The Ukrainian producer's Russian passport is proved by both the current official registers of the Russian Federation and extracts from state databases of different periods.

It is as a Russian citizen that Barulya owns his business in Crimea and has a current Russian taxpayer identification number.

And it was with a Russian passport that he owned two apartments in Moscow until 2019.

The Russian state portal "Gosuslugi" marks Baruli's passport as "valid".

So is the website of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

At the same time, Naum Barulya himself flatly refused to talk about the issue of having a Russian passport.

- You know, I'm not going to discuss these issues over the phone," he told a journalist from "Schemes"

- Have you thought about giving up your Russian passport?

- Listen, I don't want to do this over the phone. Please forgive me.

- I can send you my press card or we can meet if you feel more comfortable.

- I don't really want to touch it, to be honest.

Old and new assets in Crimea - according to the laws of the occupiers

Barulya also claims that he lost all his assets in Crimea after the occupation: "In fact, there is nothing, I lost everything. Everything I worked for every day for 25 years".

But as "Schemes" has found out, firstly, Zelenskyy's long-time creative associate still owns three apartments in Sudak with a total area of 312 square metres. Which he voluntarily re-registered under Russian law, thereby recognising the jurisdiction of the Russian Federation in the occupied Ukrainian territory.

The journalists can confirm this by an application to the occupation authorities for registration of one of these apartments, submitted in his interests, which "Schemes" obtained from Russian registers.

Lawyer Dmytro Danichev was involved in the re-registration of this property on behalf of Barulya.

It was for this purpose that the Russian citizen Barulya issued him a power of attorney. The "Schemes" also managed to obtain a copy of the document from Crimea.

In 2015, Barulya issued a power of attorney to a lawyer in Sudak and had it certified by a notary for the purpose of "registering his property with the cadastral authorities". And also to register new property.

For example, a well-known producer, while earning money in Ukraine, continued to acquire new property on the occupied peninsula after the annexation - as a Russian citizen, according to Russian law.

In 2017, Barulia became the owner of a 7-hectare land plot in Sudak.

A year later, he immediately acquired another 6 hectares and became the owner of a seven-storey building with an area of over 2,000 square metres.

So as of 2023, Naum Barulya owns property in Sudak worth approximately RUB 60 million.

His Crimean business is a separate story.

Active business in Crimea

For 5 years after the occupation of Crimea, until 2019, Naum Barulia co-owned a large hotel-restaurant "Parus" on the central embankment of Sudak. All this time, his partners were... pro-Kremlin politicians.

In particular, this includes Anatoliy Sinyuk, a former member of the Crimean parliament from the Party of Regions who supported the annexation of Crimea in 2014 and was later suspected of treason. In 2018, when Barulya and Sinyuk jointly owned a restaurant in Sudak, Ukraine imposed sanctions on the latter. After the full-scale invasion, he supported Putin's actions.

Another partner of the producer of the "League of Laughter" is Boris Deich, a former MP from the Party of Regions who also supported the seizure of the Ukrainian peninsula and called for a pseudo-referendum to vote for Crimea's accession to Russia.

Obviously, this is a long-standing acquaintance, as Deich was a judge during KVN performances in Crimea. For example, in 2012, Deich, the KVN players and Barulya performed in Sudak under the flags of the Party of Regions.

Now, as of December 2023, the founder of the League of Laughter has two active companies in occupied Sudak. These campaigns were registered after the annexation under the laws of the aggressor country.

The "Profi" company, although not closed, is not currently operating. But the second, "Profile-N", is a fully active business that fills the budget of the occupation authorities with taxes.

This is a food outlet on the central waterfront of Sudak called "Prokhlada". It's basically a street food market with cuisines from around the world - everything from chebureks, hot dogs and pizza to Hong Kong waffles is sold here.

Until 2019, the Sudak establishment was owned by two people - Naum Barulya and his daughter Iryna Borzova, but after being elected to parliament, she transferred her share to her father.

- "Is it true that you own a business in Crimea?" Borzova was asked in an interview by a journalist from "Vіkna Novini" in 2019.

- Yes, we have property. Not business, but property in Crimea.

- But it's not just property, it's a functioning business. In 2017, you paid RUB 275 thousand in tax.

- To keep this building from collapsing. To pay for utilities.

In a conversation with "Schemes", Naum Barulya denies that he registered property and companies in Crimea under the laws of the occupiers.

- This business is fully registered in your name under your Russian citizenship. So you don't control it?" asked Olga Ivleva, a journalist from "Schemes".

- I don't know what they drew and registered there. I did not register anything," he replied.

- The registers prove that you registered the "Prokhlada" cafe under Russian law, do you deny it?

- I didn't draw up anything.

- Who did it then and in whose interests?

- I didn't draw up anything.

After hearing such a confident denial, "Schemes" began to check further how sincere the Ukrainian cultural figure was in his answers.

And the journalists managed to obtain a document indicating that in 2014, after the occupation of Crimea and the illegal referendum, Naum Barulya and his daughter, future MP Iryna Borzova, did participate in the re-registration of the company "Profile-N" under Russian law.

This is evidenced by the minutes of the general meeting of "Profil-n's" shareholders, dated 3 December 2014.

At the meeting, Barulya and Borzova approved a new company charter that complied with Russian law, converted the hryvnia share capital into rubles at the then-current exchange rate of the Central Bank of Russia , and agreed to apply to the registration authority of the aggressor country to have the company's data entered into the Unified State Register of Legal Entities of Russia. Unanimously, with two signatures.

Journalists received an extract from this register. The data was added to it a week after the aforementioned meeting of the owners of "Profile-N".

To make sure that this was indeed Barulya's signature on the minutes of the meeting, "Schemes" compared it with other signatures of the producer on two other documents he signed.

Iryna Borzova herself, who directly admitted during the elections that her business had been re-registered under the laws of the Russian Federation, now denies in her response to "Schemes" that she had contacted the occupation authorities in Crimea about this.

Borzova declined to comment further.

Despite the full-scale war, Naum Barulya's "Prokhlada" café continues to operate. This is evidenced by the photos of the café, which was open in 2022 and 2023.

The design of the café is imbued with "nostalgia for the USSR". The design is full of relevant posters, portraits of Soviet film characters, and the cafe's logo is decorated with a red star.

The producer has addressed this topic before: before the annexation of Crimea, waiters in another Barulya's cafe, then called "Naum's", wore pioneer ties, and the performance venue was decorated with a large Soviet star with a hammer and sickle. There was also a bust and portrait of Lenin, flags of the USSR republics on the ceiling, and Soviet posters.

The owner himself, Naum Barulya, has performed on this stage many times.

As for the existing Crimean establishment of the producer of the "League of Laughter", "Prokhlada", according to the Russian register "Spark", the cafe's revenue over the past 5 years has been over RUB 15 million, of which RUB 2.5 million in 2022.

From 2019 to 2022, the company accumulated more than a million rubles in taxes for the Russian budget, of which half a million was added to the occupiers' coffers after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Application for budgetary funds of Ukraine

Having the citizenship of the aggressor country and a business in the Russian-occupied Ukrainian territories, Naum Barulya continues to earn money in Ukraine by filming large-scale entertainment TV projects. In 2023, he also tackled the topic of war, producing the comedy series "Volunteers" for television.

And in the summer of 2023, Naum Barulia applied for state funding for his work, namely his new comedy series called "The Lower League".

He applied for almost 32 million hryvnias from the Ukrainian budget on behalf of Drive Production, a company he owns together with his brothers Shefir and Timur Mindich.

The participation of citizens of the Russian Federation was expressly prohibited by the terms of the competition. However, the Ministry of Culture, represented by its subsidiary, the "Multimedia Platform of Foreign Broadcasting of Ukraine", approved Naum Barulya's application and announced him as one of the winners.

However, this fact remained in the shadows.

Another recipient of the same state funding took over all the attention - a scandal erupted around Yuriy Horbunov and his project, the comedy series "Inhulets". He also won more than 30 million from the budget for its production.

Such expenditures during the war outraged Ukrainians and forced the president himself to respond.

"Museums, cultural centres, symbols, TV series are all important, but now there are other priorities. So, I suggested two steps to the Prime Minister. The first is to find extra-budgetary funds for projects that are really needed now. (...) And the second is to ask the Prime Minister to consider replacing the Minister of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine," Zelenskyy said in his address.

As "Schemes" found out, the very next day after the "Inhulets" and Horbunov scandal broke out - the scandal that eventually led to Zelenskyy's dismissal of Culture Minister Oleksandr Tkachenko - producer Naum Barulya withdrew his application, refusing to receive budget funding for his comedy project.

Therefore, the subsidiary of the Ministry of Culture did not conclude a contract with him, "Schemes" were informed in response to an official request.

Would Naum Barulya have withdrawn his application if it hadn't been for this scandal?

And why did he apply for state funding at all, having concealed his Russian Federation citizenship in violation of the terms of the competition?

- I refused to enter the competition because the script we were writing did not fit the conditions of the competition at all. And we have never used state money and decided not to use it. "The Lower League" is about a children's football team. We sat down and thought that it was not the right time. We didn't want to use state money for this film during the war... We'll hold on to it for a while, we'll make it after the war," Barulya said.

- Your refusal was actually the day after the "Inhulets" scandal and the publication of the tender.

- No, no, no. We had refused before that. I wrote the letter two weeks before that. That's not true.

At the same time, the Ministry of Culture told us something else - that the letter of refusal signed by Naum Barulya was dated 19 July - when discussions about the expediency of such expenditures had been going on for two days in a row, and the chair under the Minister of Culture was already "shaking".