Vadym Novynskyi, the owner of Smart Holding Group and a Ukrainian politician, was born on June 3, 1963, in the Novgorod region of Staraya Russa. Novynskyi began working for Ukrainian companies in 1996 and made Ukraine his permanent home in 2007.
Background
In 2012, Novynskyi obtained his permanent Ukrainian citizenship. Viktor Yanukovych, President of Ukraine at the time, granted citizenship based on what he described as Novynskyi’s distinguished service to the country. The first company he worked for in Ukraine was Lukoil North W. He bought several metallurgical companies in his new homeland over the next few years.
Education
At the age of 22, Novynskyi graduated from the Saint-Petersburg State University of Civil Aviation. He earned a degree in engineering management systems.
Career
Novynskyi partnered with Andrei Klymanko in 2006. They formed and launched Smart Holding Group together. The following year, Novynskyi and Klymanko obtained a 23.75 percent stake in Metinvest, a successful iron ore business in Ukraine. Their holding company has also invested in several other large assets in agriculture, business development, gasoline, and shipbuilding.
During the first year after Smart Holding Group’s launch, the state agreed to sell the company a 93.83 percent stake in the A.M. Gorkiy Balaklava Mine. Part of the agreement stipulated that the new holding group must complete a phased environmental rehabilitation plan for Balaklava Bay, which its leaders were happy to do.
Politics
Ever since he became a citizen of Ukraine, Vadym Novynskyi desired to serve his country as a member of Parliament. He served his first term starting in September 2013 after winning the election as an independent in July of that year. Novynskyi served in constituency 224, which covered the Crimean Peninsula’s southwestern region. He joined the Party of Regions after taking office, just as he said he would do during the election.
While serving in the Ukrainian Parliament as the People’s Deputy, Novynskyi wrote or co-wrote drafts for more than 100 new laws. Economic development, increasing infrastructure, protecting the rights of religious communities to practice their faith as they saw fit, and assisting international displaced persons were the primary areas he focused on when drafting new legislation.
Novynskyi won election for a single seat in constituency 54, which represents the Donetsk Oblast, in 2019. He announced after Russia invaded Ukraine in early 2022 that he would remain in the country. He also denounced Russia for the attack.
Views
Vadym supports numerous charitable causes that have personal meaning for him. As an active philanthropist in Ukraine, one of his top causes has been investing in programs that protect families, especially mothers and their children. Other causes that the Vadym Novynskyi Charitable Fund donates to regularly include cultural heritage, historical heritage, and healthcare.
The Vadym Novynskyi Charitable Fund was launched in 2008. Here are some of the recent causes it has helped to support:
- Assisted Ukrainian hospital with purchasing medical equipment to treat the influx of patients with COVID-19.
- Orphanage for 400 children at the Holy Ascension Bancheny Monastery.
- Support services for children and adults with cerebral palsy at Kozyavkin International Rehabilitation Clinic.
- Reconstruction of the Holy Trinity Church, which has a 300-year history in Ukraine.
- Management of the International Displaced Persons Program, which helped evacuate 1,400 people from war-ravaged areas and relocate them into sanitoriums located in Chernihiv, Donetsk, and Mykolaiv. The program also provides clothing, food, and general necessities for the new sanitorium residents.
Connections
Novynskyi is married and the father of four children. He met his wife in St. Petersburg, Russia, and they raised their family there.