Anton Yatsenko

Anton Volodymyrovych Yatsenko (; born 13 July 1977) is a Ukrainian politician currently serving as a People's Deputy of Ukraine representing Ukraine's 200th electoral district as an independent since 2012, having previously been a member of the Party of Regions. Previously, he served as a party list People's Deputy from Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc from 2007 to 2012.

Early life and career Anton Volodymyrovych Yatsenko was born on 13 July 1977 in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv. From 1993 to 1998, he studied at the Kyiv National Economic University, graduating with a specialisation in management of foreign economic activity. He again studied at Kyiv National Economic University until 2007 to become a lawyer.

Prior to entering the political scene himself, Yatsenko was assistant to multiple other People's Deputies of Ukraine, working at public events for , Vasyl Tsushko, , and Serhiy Osyka. He also worked as vice-rector of Kyiv National Economic University from 2004 to 2005, and in the Office of the President of Ukraine, serving as head of the information and analytical department of the Department for Socio-Political Affairs of the Main Department for Internal Policy. At the time of his election in 2007, he was a researcher at the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. He voted for the bill "On the Principles of State Language Policy" strengthening the status of the Russian language in Ukraine. In 2014, amidst Euromaidan, he was among the People's Deputies who voted in favour of the anti-protest laws. The same year, he left the Party of Regions faction. In the Verkhovna Rada, he joined the pro-Russian Revival faction, and became one of the party's more prominent members, serving on its presidium and becoming its deputy chair in 2018. He was also head of the subcommittee on legislating administrative offences within the Verkhovna Rada Law Enforcement Committee. The only other candidate to place above 10% in the election was Olena Vorontsova of Servant of the People. His campaign was also the most expensive in Cherkasy Oblast, with ₴6,910,325 being spent on his re-election. According to anti-corruption non-governmental organisation Chesno, the majority of Yatsenko's funding came from relatives, particularly his wife, father-in-law, and sister.

Cyborg defamation lawsuit In late June 2018, Yatsenko claimed without evidence that Cyborg fighter Oleh Hervas from Cherkasy Oblast was a "marauder and murderer", an allegation that brought Hervas to file a lawsuit. The Pecherskyi District Court in Kyiv, hearing the case, subsequently ordered Yatsenko to pay ₴5,000 to Hervas for "moral damages" on 24 January 2020. It additionally ordered him to refute his prior statements online.

Piano voting

Yatsenko has a reputation in Ukrainian journalistic and anti-corruption circles for his propensity towards piano voting, having the highest record of known instances of piano voting than any other People's Deputy in 2018. Chesno has recorded 129 instances of piano voting by Yatsenko .

Yatsenko is additionally involved in several investigations for corruption. The State Property Fund of Ukraine, a government organisation responsible for establishing a database of all property in Ukraine and appraising it, lost millions of hryvnias through a pyramid scheme involving intermediary sites used by appraisers. When the Verkhovna Rada attempted to pass a law banning the practice, a group of deputies from Servant of the People attempted to push through an alternative bill, in line with Yatsenko's position. The faction leadership of Servant of the People suspected Yatsenko of being involved in an attempt to bribe People's Deputies, and subsequently subjected those responsible for introducing the bill to a polygraph test. However, the alternative bill failed to pass, and the original bill successfully became law.