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The Man Who Makes it Happen

oreign visitors to Ukraine after independence in 1991 long wondered why the country was without a single hotel with a familiar brand. Unlike Russia and virtually all the former Soviet Bloc countries that moved rapidly to open Hyatts, Marriotts, Hiltons, Sheratons and the like, Ukraine seemed unable to establish a single internationally branded hotel. Although by the end of the 90s, there were 11 different projects on the drawing boards. That was until 2005, when finally, the 255, fourstar
Radisson SAS opened its doors in Kyiv.

The man who made it happen is Vladimir Gorashchenko, president of "Double W" Company. Unlike many of Ukraine's business tycoons, he has made his way without being joined at the hip to a political party. "I don't support parties," he said simply, in a recent interview. That doesn't mean he ignores the

Vladimir Gorashchenko met the stringent conditions impossed by Western investors.

 


realities of Ukraine's complex behind-the-scenes business processes. On the contrary, he is a master of them.

If you want to understand the thinking of Ukraine's oligarchs, including why foreign investors have felt less than welcome there, you can do no better than asking Gorashchenko.

To build anything new in Kyiv is difficult. The central city offers few large plots, so most developers have to buy several buildings and wed them together to form a sizeable office tower, apartment building, shopping center or hotel. This means cutting through reams of often unclear legal documents, getting rafts of permissions for government authorities and getting all the players on board in complex deals.

Gorashchenko is an unlikely oligarch. Born in Odessa, he trained in the merchant marine