Oleksa Shalayskyi, renowned Ukrainian investigative journalist, dies aged 58
Renowned Ukrainian journalist and co-founder of the investigative project Nashi Groshi, Oleksa Shalayskyi, has died at the age of 58, his fellow journalist Yurii Nikolov said on Oct. 4.
Journalist Serhii Syrovatka, citing Shalayskyi's wife, reported that he died of natural causes.
"I can't imagine what Ukrainian investigative journalism would be like without him," Nikolov wrote on Facebook.
Over the decades, Shalayskyi became one of Ukraine’s leading investigative journalists and is described by his colleagues as a pioneer of anti-corruption investigations.
"His voice was the voice of conscience, intolerant of injustice," said Ukrainian media watchdog Institute of Mass Information (IMI). "Oleksa reacted deeply to any form of lies and abuses and always stood firmly for society's right to know the truth."
Starting his career in the late 1980s, he contributed to various media outlets and led several respected Ukrainian publications, including Ukrainian Week and Weekly Mirror (Dzerkalo Tyzhnia).
In 2010, Shalayskyi, together with Nikolov, founded Nashi Groshi — an investigative project focused on exposing corruption schemes in public procurement. The outlet's articles have repeatedly prompted criminal investigations into alleged wrongdoings by Ukrainian officials.
Shalayskyi was a co-author of the investigation into the Boyko Towers, a set of oil drilling platforms located in the Black Sea, informally named after Russian-friendly politician Yurii Boyko.
The journalist was also one of the architects behind the Prozorro, the Ukrainian public e-procurement system.
More recently, Shalayskyi ran a YouTube show and was working on a new investigative project about corruption.
Kate Tsurkan
