Vitold Fokin

Vitold Pavlovych Fokin (, ; 25 October 1932 – 20 March 2025) was a Ukrainian politician who served as the first Prime Minister of Ukraine from the country's declaration of independence on 24 August 1991 until 1 October 1992. He had earlier served as the prime minister of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic from 23 October 1990 to 24 August 1991.

After Vitaliy Masol was forced to resign, Fokin was appointed the head of the Council of Ministers of the Ukrainian SSR on 17 October 1990.

Early life Fokin graduated from the National Mining University of Ukraine in Dnipropetrovsk.

Prime Minister of Ukraine

On 18 April 1991, Fokin was appointed Prime Minister of Ukraine.

On 12 September 1991, the Verkhovna Rada (Ukraine's parliament) adopted its resolution on "Succession of Ukraine" where Ukraine was declared a direct successor of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic. On 22 August 1992, at a plenary session of the Verkhovna Rada President Leonid Kravchuk accepted a succession diploma from the exiled government of the Ukrainian People's Republic.

Fokin was one of the drafters and signers of the Belavezha Accords that effectively ended the Soviet Union and founded the Commonwealth of Independent States. Before his death, he was the last living signatory.

During his time as prime minister, he avoided radical pro-market reforms, although critics have argued that Fokin's inaction on the matter and excessive subsidies to various unproductive enterprises contributed to hyperinflation (at 1,210% in 1992) and in general to the poor performance of the Ukrainian economy. He resigned on 8 October 1992, under pressure from the Verkhovna Rada and the general public. Until May 1994, he was vice speaker of the Verkhovna Rada. He served as chairman of the supervisory board of AOZT Devon.

After retirement

In 2020, the pro-Russian 112 Ukraine TV channel published information about a 2017 interview Fokin gave to Ukrainian journalist Dmitry Gordon, where Fokin attempted to justify the Russian annexation of Crimea following his appointment to the Trilateral Contact Group on Ukraine, a contact group of representatives from Ukraine, Russia, and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe which sought to facilitate a diplomatic resolution of the war in Donbas.

On 27 March 2022, during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, a Russian missile hit Fokin's house; Fokin himself was not injured because he was in Moldova at the time.

Fokin died in Kyiv on 20 March 2025, at the age of 92.