Dnipropetrovsk Mafia

This status was due to the city's importance in the Soviet nuclear weapons programme; Pivdenmash (Ukrainian: Південмаш; Russian: Южмаш, romanized: Yuzhmash), based in Dnipropetrovsk, was at the time the top producer of intercontinental ballistic missiles in the world.

However, the Dnipropetrovsk Mafia survived the post-Brezhnev period, and, after the Declaration of Independence of Ukraine, returned to the forefront of Ukrainian politics.

Kuchma's rule was preceded by Vitold Fokin, as well as succeeded in an acting capacity by Yukhym Zvyahilsky, both of whom were members of the Donetsk Clan.

This status was owed in part due to his role as former head of Pivdenmash,[6] as well as his Dnipropetrovsk origins, in contrast with Fokin, Zvyahilsky, and Vitaliy Masol, all of whom had political roots in the Donbas region.

There, he had established a reputation for himself, both as a qualified economist who had accomplished remarkable short-term growth and as a powerful ruler who effectively controlled the Ukrainian mafia in the Oblast.

Seeking to preserve his career, Lazarenko quickly moved from regional to national politics, and was brought into the Government of Ukraine by Kuchma as a third competitor between Marchuk and Viktor Pynzenyk, who both presented differing views on necessary economic reforms.

A third group, descended from Lazarenko's and led by Yulia Tymoshenko, took control after the presidential election, Orange Revolution, and Kuchma's resignation from politics.

However, Ukrainian political commentator Denys Kazanskyi [uk] has rejected the idea that the 2010 presidential election was simply another clash between the Donetsk and Dnipropetrovsk clans, citing the involvement of groups from throughout the entire country.

[9] Following Euromaidan and the Revolution of Dignity, the political clan system in Ukraine ended with the cementing of the government as the primary source of authority.

This was in large part due to the activities of Kolomoyskyi as Governor of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, where the 2014 pro-Russian unrest in Ukraine was heavily cracked down upon.

He personally subsidised the Ukrainian Air Force, offered a $10,000 reward for the capture of a pro-Russian separatist, and backed the creation of the highly effective Dnipro battalions."