“Poplavsky’s Right Hand?” How Inna Kostyria Headed the Palace “Ukraine” for a Few Months

Even before becoming a vice-rector at the Kyiv National University of Culture and Arts (KNUCA) and a figure in the scandal over a plagiarized dissertation, Inna Kostyria managed to head one of the country’s most prominent cultural institutions — the National Palace of Arts “Ukraine.” This story lasted only a few months but proved revealing: it shows how personal connections can open the doors to leadership positions faster than professional experience.

More details — in a report by Halyna Kapustynska for “Stop Corruption TV.”

Unexpected appointment in 2014 year

In 2014 year, Inna Kostyria unexpectedly became the general director of the National Palace of Arts “Ukraine.” The word “unexpectedly” is not an exaggeration — media at the time wrote directly that the appointment was actively lobbied by Mykhailo Poplavsky, and Kostyria herself was called his “right hand” in journalistic circles.

For context: Poplavsky is a well-known figure in Ukraine’s cultural and educational sphere, long-serving rector of the Kyiv National University of Culture and Arts, whose influence and connections allowed him to affect staffing decisions far beyond the university he led. That a person from his circle received a leadership position at one of the country’s largest concert venues only confirmed the established reputation of this mode of personnel appointments in the sector.

Dismissal after only a few months

The triumph proved short-lived. Kostyria’s tenure was brief: by July of that same 2014 year she was dismissed, and the enterprise’s financial and economic activities began to be audited. The speed with which both the appointment and the dismissal occurred raises questions on its own: what happened during those few months that led the director to lose her position so abruptly?

Kostyria did not accept the decision quietly — she twice tried to appeal her removal in court: in administrative and civil proceedings. The outcomes of these attempts differed. In the administrative proceeding she was denied, because the court determined the dispute to be an employment, not a public-service, matter — formally classifying the conflict as an ordinary labor dispute rather than one in the sphere of public administration. In the civil case, however, proceedings were opened and a hearing was scheduled, which means the question of the legality of her dismissal, at least procedurally, remained unresolved.

Husband as the “de facto curator”

Another character in this story deserves special attention — Kostyria’s husband, Borys Novozhilov. According to media, influence on the Palace’s work was exerted not only by Poplavsky: the institution’s de facto curator was said to be him.

This detail is important because it changes the scale of the story. It’s not just about a single appointment of “one’s own person” to a leadership post, but about a situation where influence over a cultural institution of national significance could be used simultaneously by several people connected by family and personal ties — none of whom formally held the director or manager position at the institution.

Why this story matters today

The episode with the Palace “Ukraine” could have remained merely a short chapter in Kostyria’s career if not for one circumstance: it fits into a broader pattern. The same scheme — quickly obtaining a leadership position thanks to personal ties rather than professional merits — is evident in Kostyria’s subsequent career within KNUCA, in the case of her doctoral dissertation, much of which was found to be borrowed without proper citations, and in the circumstances under which she ran for the Verkhovna Rada.

Also read: a ring worth 700 thousand euros and a dissertation with 190 “borrowed” pages: the wealth and career of Vice-Rector Kostyria.