Yuriy Vitrenko's Library —
A Collection of
Public Domain Documents
from my Tenure at Naftogaz
Welcome to my library.
From 2014 to July 2020 I was one of Naftogaz’s top managers. During a critical period of Ukraine’s modern history, I not only became its chief operating officer, but also the main architect of its historic victory in complex international arbitration over Russia’s energy colossus Gazprom.
Independently minded, with a Western education, I was regarded as a maverick. I was an asset in the role of troubleshooter and strategist when Naftogaz needed to pull Ukraine back from the edge of the abyss. But once this had been achieved, conformity with the enduring old system once again prevailed. It does not tolerate mavericks and those prepared to speak their minds.
Thus, I have been freed to share my experience, lessons learned and recommendations with you. Indeed, I consider it my moral, professional and patriotic duty to do this.
An “insider”, I am making available material that provides a more candid and fuller picture from what you will find in the sanitized official Naftogaz reports. The enterprise is after all a state structure, and is therefore expected to follow the political line of those in power and gloss over its defects.
I make no secret of my dissenting views on how Naftogaz should continue to press Gazprom further in international arbitration, and on the need to change both Naftogaz`s business model and its corporate governance.
These materials, insights and interpretations are important not only for the historical record, but especially for understanding the current contexts of the Russian-Ukrainian confrontation, Ukraine’s political and economic realities, and related geopolitical implications.
In an age of Fake News and selected restricted openness, this is my contribution in the fight against them and attempt to help set the record straight by providing an open resource for journalists, analysts, and the interested public.
