Donetsk Clan
The Donetsk Clan (Ukrainian: Донецький клан, romanized: Donetskyi klan; Russian: Донецкий клан, romanized: Donetsky klan), also called the Donetsk Mafia, the Donetsk Family, or simply "The Family", was a group of Ukrainian oligarchs and members of the Ukrainian mafia active between the late Soviet period and the 2014 Revolution of Dignity, when the clan collapsed. Emerging from the nomenklatura of Ukraine's eastern Donbas region, the Donetsk Clan formed one of the three main groupings of oligarchs during the presidency of Leonid Kuchma, alongside Viktor Medvedchuk's Kyiv Seven and Kuchma's own Dnipropetrovsk Mafia. In Kuchma's second term, the clan outplayed the other two groups, leading to the political rise of Viktor Yanukovych. Following Yanukovych's fall from power, the Donetsk Clan dissolved, though its members remained prominent in Ukraine.
Донецький клан | |
Donetsk clan leaders Rinat Akhmetov and Viktor Yanukovych (left and centre, respectively) with Russian Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin | |
| Founding location | Donetsk, Ukraine |
|---|---|
| Years active | 1991 – 2014 |
| Territory | Donbas, Ukraine |
| Ethnicity | Volga Tatars, Ukrainians, Russians |
| Leader(s) | Akhat Bragin (1991–1994), Rinat Akhmetov, Dmytro Firtash, Viktor Yanukovych |
| Activities | Corruption, drug trafficking, gambling, human trafficking, profiteering, prostitution, state capture |
| Allies | Solntsevskaya Bratva |
| Rivals | Kyiv Seven, Dnipropetrovsk Mafia |
| Notable members | Mykola Azarov, Borys Kolesnikov, Oleksandr Yefremov |