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Kolomoisky describes Soviet pressure to Russify names and identity

In a courtroom clip, the Ukrainian businessman links concealed ethnicity and altered surnames to career prospects and personal safety.

Channel: TSN ·

UkraineStory of November 7, 2026Trari Newsroom

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КОЛОМОЙСЬКИЙ: “ЕСЛИ МЕНЯЛИ НАЦИОНАЛЬНОСТЬ ИЛИ СКРЫВАЛИ, ПИСАЛИ, ЧТО РУССКИЕ”

A surname becomes Ihor Kolomoisky's example of how Ukrainian identity could be obscured in Soviet times. Speaking in a courtroom, the Ukrainian-born businessman argues that people concealed their ethnicity and registered as Russian rather than Ukrainian.

The short clip, published by Ukraine's Television News Service (TSN), centers on his comparison between the discrimination faced by Ukrainians and Jews. He describes their position as almost the same, while concluding that Jews faced even harsher treatment.

Here, "nationality" means ethnic identity, rather than citizenship of a separate country. Soviet identity documents recorded ethnicity, distinguishing, for example, between Russian, Ukrainian and Jewish identities within the same state.

Kolomoisky points to the surname Vasilenkov, which he says derives from the Ukrainian Vasilenko, contrasting it with Vasilyev. The exchange connects such changes to attempts to advance professionally or protect one's life. His explanation of that particular surname is his own assertion.

The clip is a historical discussion rather than an update on the court proceedings. Its central argument is Kolomoisky's: that identifying as Russian could offer protection or opportunities denied to people who retained their Ukrainian identity.

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