Vitold Fokin dies: how Ukrainians remember the first prime minister
20 March 16:35
Today, on March 20, 2025, the first Prime Minister of the newly independent Ukrainian state, Vitold Fokin, died at the age of 92. His granddaughter Maria Fokina wrote about this on social media, Komersant ukrainskyi reports.
Читайте нас у Telegram: головні новини коротко
Witold Fokin: from the premiership to scandals in the Trilateral Contact Group
Witold Fokin is a figure who has left a significant mark on the history of independent Ukraine. The first prime minister of modern Ukraine, he led the government during the period of statehood formation, when the country faced numerous challenges and opportunities.
Fokin was born in 1932 in what is now Zaporizhzhia Oblast. He graduated from the mining faculty of the Dnipro Mining Institute with a degree in mineral deposit development. For almost two decades, he worked in management positions at mines in the Luhansk region and in the early 1970s joined the civil service of the Ukrainian SSR, reaching the position of Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers – Chairman of the State Committee of the Ukrainian SSR for Economics. After Ukraine gained independence, Fokin became the first head of government, heading the Cabinet of Ministers in 1991.
However, it was not only the period of his premiership that made Fokin famous. In 2020, already at a respectable age, he was once again in the spotlight when he was appointed deputy head of the Ukrainian delegation to the Trilateral Contact Group (TCG) for the settlement of the conflict in Donbas. This appointment was accompanied by a number of scandalous statements that caused a wide public outcry.
One of these statements was his statement about the need to grant special status to the entire territory of Donetsk and Luhansk regions, not just the occupied areas. This position caused outrage among many politicians and citizens who considered it unacceptable.
In addition, Fokin called for a general amnesty for all combatants in eastern Ukraine, which also became the subject of heated debate. He noted that in order to achieve peace, a general amnesty should be declared and elections should be held throughout Donbas.
No less resonant was his statement that he sees no evidence of a war between Ukraine and Russia in Donbas. These words caused a wave of criticism from politicians and the public.
Another episode that attracted attention was his statement in which he called the militants in Donbas “rebels.” After being criticized, he apologized for this incorrect remark, which he believed to be incorrect.
Interestingly, Fokin’s appointment to the TCG was not without the participation of his granddaughter, singer Masha Fokina, who said that she recommended her grandfather for the position because she was familiar with the head of the Presidential Office, Andriy Yermak.
As a result of the scandalous statements and public outrage, on September 30, 2020, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a decree dismissing Vitold Fokin from his position as deputy head of the Ukrainian delegation to the TCG. The President’s Office noted that his statements do not correspond to the official position of the state and harm the national interests of Ukraine.
Thus, Vitold Fokin remained in the history of Ukraine not only as the first prime minister, but also as a politician whose later statements caused significant controversy and discussion in society.
Vitold Fokin: dossier
- october 25, 1932 – born in Zaporizhzhia.
- 1954 – graduated from the Dnipro Mining Institute.
- 1950s-1980s – worked in the coal industry, gradually rising from a mining foreman to the First Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Ukrainian SSR.
- October 1990 – became Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Ukrainian SSR.
- august 24, 1991 – became the first Prime Minister of independent Ukraine.
- December 1991 – signed the agreement on the establishment of the CIS.
- October 1992 – resigned after criticizing the government’s economic policy.
- 2020 – joined the Trilateral Contact Group on Donbas.
- September 2020 – left the TCG after a public outcry over his statements.
