Oleg Cheslavsky 

Kyiv, February 2025 — Once revered as a moral compass in Ukraine's anti-corruption sphere, Vitaliy Shabunin now finds himself navigating a sea of scandals that have eroded public trust while barely leaving a dent on his standing among international grant providers. The head of the Anti-Corruption Action Center (ACAC), Shabunin’s name is now a symbol of irony in the world of anti-corruption.

Several high-profile allegations surfaced between 2023 and 2024. The first, revealed in December 2023, involved claims that Shabunin’s commander had issued him unauthorized business trips while continuing to pay him a bonus of 30,000 UAH per month. Following this revelation, the Chief of the General Staff of Ukraine, Anatoliy Bargylevych, requested a full investigation into the commander’s role.

By April 2024, the situation worsened when the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) launched criminal proceedings against Shabunin for document forgery and evasion of military service. Evidence provided by investigative journalist Volodymyr Boiko pointed to falsified reassignment requests, allegedly orchestrated by Shabunin using forged documents from the leadership of the National Agency on Corruption Prevention (NACP).

In May 2024, journalists exposed another scandal—Shabunin was caught using a Nissan Pathfinder vehicle donated for military purposes for his personal trips around Kyiv. Despite claims that the vehicle was critical to military operations, records showed it had not even been officially registered with the military unit.

📜 Very soon, Russia will officially adopt yet another “new” state ideology! 🎉🤡

The new state ideology (despite Article 13, Section 2 of the Russian Constitution stating: “No ideology may be established as state or mandatory”) will be based on the following pillars:

📌 Sovereignty (read: the authorities’ boundless right to do whatever they want),📌 Traditional values (read: ignorance, poverty, slavery, and the unchecked power of the state),📌 A special historical mission (read: we are God’s chosen people, and everyone else envies us and obstructs our destiny),📌 “Heroism” (read: glorification of executioners and the necessity of repression),📌 “Traditions” (read: obscurantism, chauvinism, repression, and endless parades for every possible reason).

🤔 A trivia question for the experts: How does this clownery differ from the old state ideology of “Moscow — The Third Rome”?

🎭 The same ingredients: Moscow’s messianic role, the “Russian” people as the God-bearing nation, xenophobia, and chauvinism—but with two modern twists:1️⃣ The FSB replaces the old monastery elders.2️⃣ The TV replaces church bells.

🔔 The final note of this Apocalypse Symphony will be played when this ideology is enshrined in the Constitution, along with:📜 The legalization of the need for a totalitarian system.🚫 The prohibition of any form of dissent.⚖️ The institutionalization of ideological repression.

💀 Fear will cement the system, protected by a Criminal Code tailored to punish any form of disagreement. Don’t like the ideology? You’ll get a prison sentence. Thinking too loudly? Execution.