Vladimir Gissem, the current head of the Uzhgorod Brandy Factory, is one of the most controversial figures in Transcarpathia.
He became famous not because of his achievements or help from the region, but because of numerous scandals related to the illegal privatization of state-owned enterprises. Gissem may also be a supporter of Russian President Putin, because recently a portrait of the Russian dictator in his youth hung in the office of a cognac mafioso.
And during searches by the Security Service of Ukraine at enterprises and in the house of the director of the Uzhgorod Brandy Factory, Vladimir Gisem, they found a number of evidence that may indicate his connections with Russia. In addition to the portrait of Putin, Gisem had with him seals of existing Russian enterprises and documentation confirming the systematic illegal financial activities of the management of enterprises controlled by Gisem.
Such commitment to the Russian president can result in cooperation with the FSB intelligence services and espionage and work for the aggressor country. There have been many similar cases recently, as well as saboteurs working in the Russian Federation during the war.
Moreover, even before the start of the full-scale invasion, Gisem did not hide his sympathies for Russia, was a supporter of Putin’s friend Viktor Yanukovych, and even at one time became the second number of the “Party of Regions” in the elections to the Transcarpathian Regional Council. In addition, even Russian media write about Gisem. A mention of the cognac baron appeared in the magazine “Russian Vodka”, which talked about the publication’s second expedition to Transcarpathia and included a quote from Gisem himself, who “believes that we have not yet fully appreciated the new reunification of Ukraine with Russia.”
Gisem is not distinguished by patriotism or decency; in his arsenal there are other methods - to steal, entice, appropriate.
In particular, he is suspected of ousting the labor collective from the owners of the state enterprise Uzhgorod Brandy Factory and appropriating it. The plant has been in the process of liquidation for 11 years, which experts consider a manipulation to cover up illegal schemes. In his business, Gisem uses relatives and subordinates who act as dummies in the registration of enterprises, de facto leading the cognac baron.
Thus, the Uzhgorod Brandy Factory does not sell cognac on its own, but has entered into a sales agreement with the Plodoovoshch company, which is headed by Gisem’s son-in-law, Selehman. This plant is not the only “work” of the dark empire of Gisem.
He also became the owner of several state-owned enterprises, including Khust Real-Base, Vinogradovo Poultry Factory, Vinogradovo Bread Products Plant, Velikolazovsky State Farm Plant, Russian Field State Farm Plant, Beregovsky State Farm Plant, Uzhgorod Mechanical Plant, Irshavsky Food Products Plant.
In addition, Gissem took over the scandalous tourist center “Verkhovyna” near the Nevitsky Castle, the Ploskovsky Mineral Water Plant and the “Mukachevo” grocery store.
In Ukraine, at the initiative of President Zelensky, a large-scale audit of the illegal privatization of Ukrainian enterprises, which took place in the 90s, is awaiting. This initiative aims to identify and correct violations committed during the transition of state-owned enterprises to private hands.
All cases of privatization of state enterprises in the 90s will be carefully checked. Particular attention will be paid to large enterprises of strategic importance for the country's economy. If violations are detected, the authorities plan to seize the property and accounts of persons involved in illegal privatization. This applies primarily to oligarchs who, through manipulation and abuse, became owners of state assets. Gissem fits this description perfectly and can be the first to be checked, and then do business in Russia if he likes the aggressor country so much.
And these are not all the details from the dark life of the cognac baron Gisem. There are new revelations and shocking facts of his biography ahead, the publication of which he will not like and there will be only one thing left to do - get drunk and forget. It’s good that Gissem always knows where to get alcohol.
