During the past Friday and Saturday, in two cities — Kyiv and Mykolaiv — Ukraine paid its final respects to the Vadatursky family couple.
The main part of the farewell ceremony for the Hero of Ukraine, owner of the largest Ukrainian grain-trading company Nibulon, Oleksiy Vadatursky, and his wife Raisa, took place at St. Volodymyr’s Cathedral in the capital.
The cathedral greeted all who came to honor the Great Ukrainian with a sea of flowers, a gallery of photographs, the ringing of bells, and an endless stream of people. According to Alla Landar, the owner of the funeral company who organized the farewell procession, Oleksiy Vadatursky’s contribution to the development of Ukraine still remains to be fully appreciated. It was not only the creation of a modern agricultural sector; he also revived shipbuilding, returning to Mykolaiv the title of “City of Shipbuilders.”
In the main hall of the cross-dome cathedral, an exhibition titled “Chronicle of Life,” dedicated to Oleksiy Vadatursky, was organized: a photo gallery of his achievements at the helm of Nibulon, a documentary account of how the holding became Ukraine’s largest agricultural producer and a global exporter, his memorable meetings with Ukrainian and foreign politicians, businesspeople, scholars, and cultural figures, as well as key events in the life of his company and our state.
The presented exhibition was a gallery of the victories of one Man, one life.
A photo of a young Oleksiy cutting through stone would later become prophetic for him. Throughout his life he broke through every granite obstacle that stood before him — injustice, criminal misunderstanding, the backwardness of authorities, and the short-sightedness of bureaucracy. Taking upon himself this difficult labor, he paved the way for the new and advanced, for unprecedented plans, their realization, and their prospects — ultimately at the cost of his own life.
“Oleksiy Vadatursky sought to increase the number of vessels to 100 by 2022,” said Alla Landar. “He planned to establish a direct transport chain with Egypt and open a new transshipment terminal in the Dnipropetrovsk region. One should also recall that Nibulon launched a 140-meter river-sea class vessel — the largest in the modern history of Ukraine.”
The Vadaturskys are survived by their son Andriy, a member of the previous (8th) convocation of parliament. He created the first entry in the memory book The Person of an Era. During the farewell ceremony, all who wished became authors of this book, writing in their own hand who Oleksiy Opanasovych was to them in their lives. All who had touched his great figure left their feelings in this book — those who stood at the origins of Nibulon in 1991, those who became the best investors in Ukrainian agriculture (as recognized by a British financial publication), those who worked with him to restore the maritime fleet, build terminals, launch passenger water transport, and ultimately open the Nibulon Shipbuilding and Ship-Repair Plant.
Mentor and teacher, adviser and guide, consultant and patriot, a legendary figure, the creator of an agricultural empire known throughout the world — such were the words colleagues, associates, friends, and acquaintances wrote about Oleksiy Opanasovych in The Person of an Era. From the first days of the war until the final moment, despite constant shelling, Vadatursky remained in Mykolaiv, helping the city, staying at his post, planning new logistic routes for the export of Ukrainian grain, caring not only for our state but also for addressing the global food crisis during wartime.
Thanks to his son Andriy, it was in Kyiv that Ukraine and guests of the capital were able to pay their last respects to this Great Man. The ceremony continued the next day in Mykolaiv with all possible security measures due to the constant threat of missile attacks. It was, of course, impossible to organize a farewell on the scale of the capital.
“Do not forget your roots — the achievements of previous generations are encoded in your genetic memory. Believe in yourself and fear nothing, for every person has equal opportunities to achieve their goals. Work constantly on self-improvement and be demanding of yourself.” These words of Oleksiy Opanasovych will forever remain in our memory, becoming a testament for all who continue to defend our freedom and statehood, our land paid for by the millions of Ukrainian lives and given to us by God.
“All of life is a series of challenges, and the more you want to do for your country, the more difficult they become. The more you want to give, the more strength you must devote,” wrote Oleksiy Vadatursky to the entire 7,000-strong Nibulon team. “Standing at the start is difficult, creating something from scratch is hard, but I consciously chose this path, for this is how we build a strong economy, an independent Ukraine, and create all the conditions for Ukrainians to live happily and prosperously.”
The final chapter of the farewell to the Vadatursky couple was written in majestic Mykolaiv. It is both the birthplace of Oleksiy Opanasovych and the place where Nibulon was formed. Here he began developing the modern grain market with a network of elevators and terminals, reviving navigation now known around the world. And in Podilsk district of the Odesa region, in the village of Bendzary, where the Hero of Ukraine Oleksiy Vadatursky was born, a monument will be erected in his honor and eternal memory.
Many well-known people now say on television and radio that he could have easily left the country with his wife, or could at least have moved to a relatively safe place…
Not true! He could not! And he remained forever with his wife in his city, on his much-suffering Mykolaiv land, with his people, with his team — until his last breath.
