Rustem Umerov: what do we know about future Ukraine’s Defense Minister?

Previously, information was circulating online that if Oleksii Reznikov resigns, Rustem Umerov, the current head of the State Property Fund, could become the new defense minister. Before his current role, he served as a Member of Parliament in the 9th convocation in 2019, representing the Holos (the Voice - ukr.) party. On September 7, 2022, he was appointed to the position of Chairman of the State Property Fund of Ukraine.

Espreso provides information about the politician, philanthropist, and entrepreneur Rustem Umerov.

Who is Rustem Umerov?

Umerov is a Crimean Tatar by birth, an adviser to the leader of the Crimean Tatar people Mustafa Dzhemiliev. Back in 1944, the Umerov family was forcibly deported, along with the entire Crimean Tatar people, from their historic homeland of Crimea to Siberia and Central Asia.  

He was born in 1982 in Samarkand, Uzbek SSR, in a family of engineers originally from Alushta. His family was able to return to their historical homeland, Crimea, only after almost 50 years of deportation, in the late 1980s.

Rustem Umerov studied at the Crimean boarding school for gifted children of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea. He earned a bachelor's degree in economics and a master's degree in finance from the National Academy of Management. He was a scholarship holder of the American program. He began his career at Lifecell, a Ukrainian telecommunications company, holding various management positions from 2004 to 2010. He is married and has three children.

Before the occupation of Crimea, the Umerov family initiated the restoration of the cultural and historical heritage of Crimea. He worked to restore the historical and political rights of the Crimean Tatars and actively lobbied for the adoption of important bills for the Crimean Tatars: on indigenous peoples and the status of the Crimean Tatar people.

In 2007, Rustem Umerov co-founded the Bizin Qirim international organization and the Community of Crimean Tatars NGO. From 2011 to 2013, he was a co-founder of the Crimean Development Fund. During this period, he held a position at iCapital and later worked at ICG Investments. In 2013, he founded the ASTEM investment company and the ASTEM Foundation.

One of the main vectors in Rustem Umerov's activities was constant communication on the exchange of Crimean political prisoners and prisoners of war. In particular, in 2017, he contributed to the release of two political prisoners of the Kremlin - Crimean Tatars Akhtem Chiygoz and Ilmi Umerov.

He was a co-chair of the Crimean Platform parliamentary association and a member of the Ukrainian negotiating group with Russia.

He is one of the donors of the Ukrainian Emerging Leaders program at Stanford University, which trains Ukrainian politicians, lawyers, social entrepreneurs, businessmen, and civic leaders. He was awarded the Order of Merit, III class.

Assessing the appointment of Rustem Umerov: pros and cons

Journalist Yuriy Butusov criticized the potential appointment of Rustem Umerov, labeling him "a man far from the war." He expressed the belief that Umerov's appointment, like those of his predecessors, may be influenced by the head of the Presidential Office, Andriy Yermak.

"So, essentially, only the name is changing. This transition also provides the President with a temporary shield against potential corruption scandals and the perception of incompetent management decisions made during Reznikov's tenure, with the promise that the new minister will address existing issues," Butusov wrote and added that the new ministerial candidate will have no programmatic actions or understanding of what to do.

"The appointment of another minister supported by Yermak, in the absence of a strategy and action plan, will demonstrate the lack of changes, the glaring detachment of the office, government, and parliament from the war. If this happens, President Zelenskyy and his entire government will show that for some people, war is blood, pain, loss, hard, terrible work that needs to be won, and for others, it is just a backdrop for photo shoots," Butusov explains.

Journalist and civic activist Daria Kaleniuk writes that she was pleasantly surprised by Umerov's work in advocating for weapons for Ukraine.

"He has often done very quietly the things that the Defense Ministry has been failing to do over the past year and a half. Rustem is one of the few people in the government who has a coherent strategic vision of how the country's security and defense sector should work. He is a manager with practical experience in managing complex teams, which, unfortunately, has not been available in the Ministry of Defense for the past year and a half," the post says.

Kaleniuk believes that the very fact that a Crimean Tatar has been appointed Minister of Defense of Ukraine is a powerful message to the world about how Ukraine plans to end the war.

Vitaliy Shabunin, director of the Anti-Corruption Action Center, believes that appointing Umerov as defense minister will be Zelenskyy's best decision.

"A person's actions in the future position are best judged by their results in the previous position," he said, emphasizing that he disagrees with Butusov's opinion.

"Firstly, from the first days of the war, Umerov has been conducting a closed track for the supply of heavy weapons from countries that are not publicly disclosed.

Secondly, since February 2022, Umerov has been an important member of the group that conducts all closed negotiations on the release of prisoners of war - more than 2,000 Ukrainians have been released (including Azovstal fighters).

Furthermore, I believe that with this appointment, Zelenskyy is making a clear statement that any attempts, whether from our allies or others, to pressure us into surrendering Crimea will be firmly rejected."

It's important to note that, as stated by journalist Ayder Muzhdabaiev on Espreso, the likelihood of Umerov's appointment as Ukraine's defense minister stands close to 100%.

"This was reported to me by my sources, which I have additionally checked, so I confirm that Umerov is the most likely candidate for this position. Appointment of Crimean Tatars to high positions is a good signal in the prospect of the liberation of Crimea," Muzhdabaiev summarized.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's stance

On the evening of September 3, Zelenskyy said the following in his usual evening address:

"This week, the Parliament will be offered to make a personnel decision. I want to outline it now. I have decided to replace the Minister of Defense of Ukraine. Oleksii Reznikov has gone through more than 550 days of full-scale war. I believe that the Ministry needs new approaches and other formats of interaction with both the military and society at large. Now Rustem Umerov should lead the Ministry. The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine knows this person well, and Mr. Umerov does not need any additional introductions. I expect the Parliament to support this candidate," he stated, emphasizing that this change should signify a strengthening of the Ministry.