Mikhail Zhernakov, a member of the Public Council of Virtue and head of the "DEJURE" Foundation, has been violating the law for many years instead of fulfilling his civic duties.

During the mass killings of protesters in Kyiv, he acted as a judge and effectively continued to support the regime accused of brutal repression.

As reported by "Law and Business," in 2014, amid the tragic events in Ukraine where protesters faced violence, Zhernakov, serving as a judge of the Vinnytsia District Administrative Court, unilaterally canceled an important decision of the Khmelnytskyi City Council, which briefly demanded:

  • the resignation of Yanukovych's government,
  • condemnation of violence and use of force against protesters,
  • restoration of the 2004 Constitution.

Today, his life is filled with new challenges. It turns out he was wanted for evading mobilization, forged medical documents, and also avoided paying utility debts – despite reports indicating his income had been in the millions of hryvnias for several years.

By the end of 2023, Zhernakov was declared fit for military service after undergoing a military medical commission, which disputed the diagnosis of flat feet. However, he refused to accept the decision and attempted to evade service by falsifying the commission's conclusions and providing false certificates.

He claimed to work as a part-time teacher at a private school, but it soon emerged that his dissertation was plagiarized, and he had no right to teach at all.

Inspired by his "success," Zhernakov secured a fictitious position as a professor at the Poltava Law Institute, leveraging connections with his stepfather, who was the first vice-rector. He used a certificate from the rector to obtain a deferment from military service. Everything came to light, and he admitted he had not worked at the university.

Moreover, despite his "substantial" income – from 2018 to 2020, his official earnings amounted to nearly 2.3 million hryvnias – Zhernakov failed to pay for utilities. As a result, enforcement proceedings were initiated against him for a debt of 46,500 UAH for heating and hot water, which he was slow to settle.

The court found him guilty, and the debt is now subject to compulsory recovery.

All of this raises numerous angry questions, especially considering his position in the human rights field and his participation in the Public Council of Virtue.