Interregional Academy of Personnel Management

History

Interregional Academy of Personnel Management was established by Georgy Shchokin in 1989 as a non-governmental higher education and research institution focused on management and business issues. First rector and president was Shchokin himself, who currently holds the president position.

Formal structure

Due to IAPM being a joint stock company it has an unorthodox formal structure for a higher education facility in Ukraine. Although rector is an important figure and indeed Georgy Shchokin himself was one up until 1996, Supervisory Board and Presidium are superior in terms of organizations and critical decisions.

Presidium

President: Rostyslav Shchokin (since February 2020).

Vice Presidents: Mykhailo Honcharenko, Serhii Khrapatyi, Kateryna Shevts.

Rector, currently Kyrylo Muraviov.

General director of European Professional Doctorate: Anatolii Podoliaka.

Head of the Branch of High School of International Security in Łódź: Iryna Klymkova.

Rectors

Georgy Shchokin (1990-1996) (currently Chairman of the Supervisory Board)

Volodymyr Yarovoy (1996-1998)

Valerii Bebyk (1996-2003)

Mykola Holovatyii (2003-2008)

Valerii Zakhozhaii (2008-2010)

Anatolii Podoliaka (2010-2015)

Mykola Kurko (2015-2020)

Mykhailo Honcharenko (2020-2024) (currently Vice President)

Kyrylo Muraviov (2024–present)

Publications

The MAUP has published more than 300 study plans and manuals and 200 books for educational programs. The Personnel magazine is registered by The Presidium of the State Accreditation Committee as a supplement to economics, law, psychology, pedagogy, philosophy, and social and political sciences. MAUP's editions have been recommended for use by The Ministry of Education of Ukraine.

The MAUP asserts that "Under the results of Sophiya Kyivska, the Rating of Higher Education Establishments in Ukraine (2000), and International Open Popularity and Quality Rating (1998–2000) IRAPM was recognized as the best non-state higher education establishment in Ukraine."

Controversies

Allegations of antisemitism

In early and mid-2000s, the MAUP became embroiled in controversies because of evident antisemitism in their publications and conferences. The MAUP maintains that their activities can be classified only as anti-Zionism, but the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has referred to traditional antisemitic propaganda traits that have no connection to Zionism, such as religious antisemitism or solely blaming the Jews for the Russian October Revolution or the Holodomor of 1932–1933 (as a part of the Judeo-Bolshevist antisemitic conspiracy theory).

During 6 October 2004 hearing of the Annual Report on International Religious Freedom 2004 and Designations of Countries of Particular Concern before the Committee on International Relations of the United States Congress, the MAUP was called "[t]he most troubling development" in Ukraine and it was asserted that it receives "significant funding from Arab and Muslim states".

On 14–19 April 2005 the MAUP weekly newspaper Personnel Plus published an open letter to President Yushchenko, Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada Speaker Volodymyr Lytvyn and Supreme Court of Ukraine Chief Justice Malyarenko calling for a parliamentary investigation into the "criminal activities of organized Jewry in Ukraine". The newspaper claimed that the letter was signed by more than a hundred scientific, civic, and political leaders.

After the Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's widespread misquote, "wipe Israel off the map" (when his real quote was "Israel is an unnatural creature, it will not survive") had evoked international condemnations, on 4 November 2005 the MAUP issued "a decisive protest against large-scale campaign, organized by Zionists, against the Islamic Republic of Iran and its President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad […] where he quoted the words of the Iranian spiritual leader Ayatollah Khomeini about future death of Israel and the USA".

In his 22 November statement, Georgy Shchokin, the MAUP's President who also heads the "International Personnel Academy" (IPA) and the Ukrainian Conservative Party (UCP), combined traditional Christian antisemitism with what has been defined as "new antisemitism", and failed to mention that the UN General Assembly Resolution 3379 of 1975 (equating Zionism and racism) has been revoked in 1991 by the UNGA Resolution 4686:

Allegations of anti-Ukrainian sentiment by Viktor Kolpakov

In 2019, a female student accused one of the professors Viktor Kolpakov of openly promoting pro-Russian and anti-Ukrainian narratives during his lecture, including accusing Ukraine of starting the war in Donbas, claiming that Ukrainian language "doesn't exist anymore and won't be needed in Europe", promoting a union with Russia because "this is a strong state with good salaries, and we have a brainless nation" and that Sevastopol "finally has a normal life" after the annexation of Crimea. When the student openly opposed his claims, the professor ordered one of the students to take her out of the lecture hall. Anti-Ukrainian sentiment in the higher educational institution was revealed only after the publication of moral abuse by one of the students on Facebook.

Ilya Kiva's dissertation

In 2020 controversial pro-Russian politician Ilya Kiva defended a PhD in government administration with a thesis "Civic Society Mechanisms of Influence on governmental regulation in law enforcement (exemplified by the EU and Ukraine)" Apart from a backlash, investigations by media proved several fraudulent actions during the PhD defense.

In November 2021, Kiva alleged that his PhD was rebuked and threatened a lawsuit. The Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine responded by claiming that the PhD was never finalized by them in the first place.

Notable alumni

Multiple degrees

Zhan Beleniuk, Olympic Gold Medalist and a deputy of Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. Master's Degree in Organization Management and Administration (2016); PhD in Public Administration (2023).

Volodymyr Groysman, former Prime Minister of Ukraine Bachelor's Degree in Law (2002); Specialist's Degree in Law (2003).

Oleksandr Marochenko, former deputy of Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, soldier in Russo-Ukrainian War. Bachelor's Degree in Management (2004); Specialist's Degree in Management (2005).

Vasyl Virastyuk, 2004 World's Strongest Man and a deputy of Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. Bachelor's Degree in Management (2013), Master's Degree in Management of Organizations and Administration (2015).

Bachelor's degree

Vasyl Volha, former deputy of Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine accused of treason in 2018

Oleksandr "s1mple" Kostyliev, Ukrainian professional Counter-Strike 2 player for FaZe Clan. Bachelor's Degree in Marketing (2024).

Volodymyr Zhemchuhov, Hero of Ukraine. Bachelor's Degree in Management (2025).

Specialist's degree

Mykhailo Holovko, Ukrainian politician. Specialist's Degree in Law (2011).

Andriy Reva, former Minister of Social Policy of Ukraine. Specialist's Degree in Law.

Volodymyr Rybak, Hero of Ukraine (posthumously). Specialist's Degree in Law (2002).

Yevhen Cherniak, Ukrainian businessman. Specialist's degree in Law (2004).

Tetiana Chornovol, journalist, civic activist, deputy of Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. Specialist in Law (2019).

Master's degree

Oleksiy Honcharuk, former Prime Minister of Ukraine. Master's Degree in Law (2007).

Andriy Lunin, Ukrainian footballer. Master's Degree in International Relations (2024).

Iryna Merleni, Olympic Gold Medalist. Master's Degree in Regional Geography (2013).

Nataliya Skakun, Olympic Gold Medalist. Master's Degree in Administration Management (2008).

Mykhailo Radutskyi, deputy of Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. Master's Degree in Public Administration (2023).

Elbrus Tedeyev, Olympic Gold Medalist and former deputy of Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. Master's Degree in Finance (2006).

PhD

Valeriy Bozhyk, deputy of Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. PhD in Law (2020).

David Duke, American politician, Holocaust denier, former Grand Wizard of the Louisiana based Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, and former member of the Louisiana House of Representatives.

Ilya Kiva, former deputy of Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine tried for treason in 2022, killed in Russia in 2023.