Hennadiy Balashov


Hennadiy Viktorovych Balashov was a Ukrainian businessman, blogger, politician and leader of 5.10 political party. He was an advocate of a radical reform of Ukraine's tax system, so-called "Tax Paradise for humanity".
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Life and career

During Euromaidan events, Balashov sided with the protesters and was actively campaigning for his ideas, calling for the introduction of 5.10 system. At the beginning of March, as the crisis in Crimea was deepening, he travelled to Simferopol, but was kidnapped by allegedly local self-defense forces. Upon his release and return to Kyiv, Balashov said that he was kidnapped, robbed and was being beaten for eight hours by local bandits.
On 10 March 2014, on the stage of Euromaidan, Balashov stated that "Putin has started a war" against Ukraine, and the only way to stop the war was to shut off the supply of Russian gas to Europe through the territory of Ukraine, for which he called on those present to "blow up the pipe." On March 12, 2014, the Investigative Committee of Russia opened a criminal case against Balashov for public calls to kill Russians and declared him wanted internationally.

2014 Ukrainian presidential election

In the early elections of the President of Ukraine in 2014, Balashov and his party "5.10" supported Petro Poroshenko in order not to let Yulia Tymoshenko win the election.

2019 Ukrainian presidential election

On 19 September 2018, Balashov announced his intention to nominate his candidature for the presidential election of Ukraine on 31 March 2019. Balashov urged party members and party supporters to finance his election campaign through contributions to the party account. The reports of the party indicated that at the beginning of 2019 1.2 million UAH were collected. This is 47% of the collateral, which should be submitted by the candidate to the CEC for registration. Balashov pledged to add the rest of his own money.
On 15 January, registration documents were submitted to the CEC. On 18 January, the CEC approved the candidate.

Personal life and death

Balashov had a wife and three children. He died on 11 November 2025, at the age of 64.

Scandals

Criminal case

On 22 January 2021 the National Police of Ukraine opened a criminal case against Balashov as he received funds totaling $28,000 as an investment in the construction of an elite apartment building. However, after the house was built, he did not give the investors their funds, but instead began to lease the premises of the house for office rent.

Illegal construction of the New York Building in the UNESCO protected zone

Boryslav Bereza claims that erection of a house by Balashov in the buffer zone of the UNESCO World Heritage Site "St. Sophia Cathedral and Adjacent Monasteries, Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra" caused a high resonance in society. Architects and archaeologists, including a representative of the Institute of Archeology of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, said that Balashov built his house with numerous violations, which gives UNESCO the full right to exclude the Cathedral of St. Sophia and the adjacent monastic structures, the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra from the list of World Heritage Sites.
The New York House is a residential building located in Kyiv at 60 Redutna Street. The building was constructed in 2015 with the involvement of businessman Hennadiy Balashov. The house has a total project area of 2333.3 m2 and consists of 8 apartments with an average area of 140 m2. Construction on Redutna Street has faced significant criticism from the community due to numerous violations of building codes and legislation, particularly in an area of historical and cultural value. According to Ukrainian cultural heritage protection legislation, high-rise construction is prohibited here; however, despite this, new residential complexes have begun to appear in this area. As of 2021, the construction of the New York Club House and other projects on Redutna Street are under scrutiny and protests from local residents concerned about potential safety and stability issues for neighboring buildings due to possible landslides.

Balashov's position

Balashov denied the accusations and expressed the opinion that the opening of the criminal case is an attempt at blackmail by law enforcement to extort money. According to him, investigative bodies, in cooperation with the prosecutor's office and Kyiv authorities, are pressuring businessmen and illegally interfering in entrepreneurial activities under the guise of criminal investigations.

Language statements

During the discussion of the Ukrainian language legislature at one of the all-Ukrainian TV channels, Balashov said that he spoke Russian out of principle.

Awards and honors