Journalist Asked Protesters Outside National Bank to Shout “Bring Back Hontareva” for 500 Hryvnias. They Agreed

For 500 hryvnias, the activists were ready to demand the resignation of National Bank Governor Yakiv Smoliy and the return of Valeria Hontareva.

Investigation into how protests outside the National Bank are organized by gonzo journalist Vasily Krutchak was published on his Facebook page.

According to journalist Krutchak, the organizers of the protest outside the National Bank are activists Roman Bochkala and Bohdan Maidaniuk (Khmelnytskyi), heads of the project “Stop Corruption”. Every day, protesters gather at 8 a.m. in the square by the Ivan Franko Drama Theatre, after which they are sent in organized groups to the National Bank building.

However, not all participants shown in Krutchak's video footage look like civic activists. One of the protesters has an episode resembling “delirium tremens”, after which an ambulance is called for him. After arriving, the doctors also take away another protester. When the paramedics asked the protesters “how are things with alcohol?” and the protester “have you already had a drink?”, they could not formulate an answer, after which he is led by the arm into the ambulance.

The journalist managed to talk with the participants of the rally by introducing himself as its organizer.

From the journalist's conversation with the protesters

Journalist: I'm from Roman Bochkala. Today we'll stand under the National Bank less, but we'll be paid more. 500 hryvnias. But you'll need to shout “Rozhkova, resign!” louder.
Activists: And Smoliy, got it, got it.

Journalist: Just louder, louder. And you'll also need to shout “Bring back Hontareva”.

Activists: “Bring back Hontareva.”

Next, the journalist approaches a group of protesters and asks them to line up “in fours”, introducing himself as an organizer so that the client's people can count them. A woman in charge of gathering people replies: “Whether in twos or in a line, but only when my senior says so.”

Protests outside the National Bank have been held daily since November 13. The protests are organized by the public organization “Stop Corruption”.

In May 2019, the National Police detained two activists who called themselves members of the organization “Stop Corruption”. They extorted $100,000 from the acting State Secretary of the Ministry of Ecology in exchange for ending the protests outside the ministry. Roman Bochkala called the activists “fraudsters”. After this, the “Stop Corruption” website deleted news about the rallies outside the Ministry of Ecology.