Yevhen Kushnaryov

Yevhen Petrovych Kushnaryov (; 29 January 1951 – 17 January 2007) was a Ukrainian politician. Kushnaryov was considered one of the chief ideologues of the Party of Regions and a key ally of Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych.

Early life Yevhen Kushnaryov was born in Kharkiv to migrants from Russia in 29 January 1951. Soon after his birth, the family moved to Melitopol. Since 1958, he studied at eight-year school No. 6, and then at secondary school No. 5, from which he graduated in 1968. Kushnaryov entered the Odessa Institute of Civil Engineering, but after the first year, by decision of his father, he transferred to the Kharkov Institute of Civil Engineering, which he graduated in 1973, receiving a degree in mechanical engineering. In 2005 he published a book (Red Horse: Notes of a Counterrevolutionary) denouncing the Orange Revolution.

Death and remembrance Farewell to Yevhen Kushnaryov at Kharkiv National Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre. January 19, 2007 On 15 January 2007, Kushnaryov was accidentally shot in the liver while hunting with a group of friends and colleagues, and died two days later in a hospital in Izium. A two-day period of mourning was declared in Kharkiv over the death of the former governor. Yevhen Kushnaryov was survived by his wife, two children, and two grandchildren. The Yevgeny Kushnaryov Foundation for Democracy Initiatives Support was founded in October 2007. The goal of the organisation is "to pursue with the ideas that mattered to him".

Honors and Distinctions Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise V (1998), IV (2002), III (2004) Class (Ukraine) Légion d'honneur (1997) (France)

Trivia Although his Ukrainian name was Yevhen (Євген), Kushnaryov personally preferred to use the Russified form Yevheniy (Євгеній) when writing in Ukrainian.