“This Is Such a Trend”: Servant of the People MP Hires Husband and Makeup Artist as Paid Assistants

The people’s deputy claims that family ties did not influence her choice.

33-year-old people’s deputy Maryna Nikitina from the Servant of the People party, who entered parliament in constituency No. 82 in Zaporizhzhia region, hired her husband Oleksandr Nikitin and eyebrow master Viktoriya Guzhva as assistants.

This is indicated by the information in the MP’s profile on the Verkhovna Rada website.

“We have come a long and difficult road since winter 2019, when we were volunteers of Team Ze! in constituency 82, — said Nikitina herself. — These are people whom I fully trust and on whom I completely rely, who have shown themselves in organizing and holding honest and fair presidential elections in Ukraine and early parliamentary elections.”

Nikitina called her husband, who previously served as a proxy for Zelensky’s presidential campaign, “an honest, fair person” who advises and guides her on agrarian issues, coordinates work in the constituency and handles communication with citizens, while also helping as a bodyguard and driver.

“Oleksandr Nikitin organized the entire Team Ze! movement across the whole of constituency 82 starting in January 2019, defended the results of the presidential elections in both rounds as Zelensky’s proxy, and then as a proxy of Servant of the People. He oversaw the Team Ze! volunteer movement and continues this work. That is exactly why, given his knowledge of the constituency and his ties with activists and the public, he became the MP’s assistant. But not at all because of family ties”, — the deputy stated.

According to information from the Zaporizhzhia Investigation Center, Nikitin previously repaired cars in the city of Huliaipole in Zaporizhzhia region, and until September 10 was registered as a sole proprietor, with car repair and maintenance listed as his main activity.

On social media, Viktoriya Guzhva has presented herself as a makeup artist, brow artist, business coach and marketer with nearly 9 years of experience in the beauty industry. According to Nikitina, Guzhva has a degree in tourism, accounting and office administration, and is “an ideological person, honest and incorruptible.” The young woman plans to take over document flow, handle Nikitina’s correspondence and communicate with the media.

“I do not betray my principles or my team. That is why my assistants are not random former assistants of former deputies with experience”, — the deputy explained.

In addition, she brought on lawyers Andriy Kaverin and Serhiy Kurdasya, as well as public relations specialist Alina Chernova, as assistants.

Nikitin and Guzhva will receive approximately 17,000–18,000 hryvnias per month each for their work.

“I divided the assistants’ salary equally between Oleksandr and Viktoriya. After all taxes are deducted, they will receive about 17,000 hryvnias per month, — the MP said. — Given the cost of living in Kyiv and constant business trips, and work in the constituency, which has 5 districts, and given that we do not use official transport and have decided to transfer travel reimbursements to charitable foundations for treating seriously ill children... Work out how much they will have left to live on”.

Meanwhile, other assistants in the capital, according to Nikitina, demand between $1,000 and $3,000 per month.

“Friends!!! Get used to it — the country is being changed by comedians, photographers, wedding hosts, makeup artists and mechanics! This is such a trend now”, — said MP Nikitina.

Under Article 34 of the Law of Ukraine “On the Status of a People’s Deputy of Ukraine”, a parliamentarian may hire up to 31 assistant-consultants on a paid basis, part-time or on a voluntary basis. Assistants must be citizens of Ukraine, have a secondary specialized or higher education and speak the state language. The law does not prohibit family ties between an MP and their assistants.

Earlier it became known that Servant of the People faction deputy and athlete Zhan Belenyuk plans to combine his two favorite pursuits for another year. In September he fell asleep during one of the Verkhovna Rada sessions.

Servant of the People also apologized for “button-pressers” among its deputies.