Pavel ‘Heroyich’, You Are Forever With Us

We are bidding farewell to our colleague and long-time friend Pavel Sheremet. You know, there is a certain kind of person — when they enter the room, everything becomes more illuminated, funnier and noisier.

Pavel was this type of a human being for Ukrayinska Pravda. He contributed an amazing spirit and essence to our office.

We called him Paul ‘the Hero’ [Ukr.: Pal Heroyich]. He was a star and a luminary to us. He was a journalist who deeply understood the social and political canvas of modern times. He was a man who commanded absolute respect.

He was completely without obsequiousness. Like most journalists of Ukrayinska Pravda he had no ‘servility gene’ — he was the same whether he was with the President or with a street sweeper. Yet always with a note of humor.

Our Pal Heroyich was a jovial guy and never missed an opportunity to make a professional comment regarding texts and the news. His eye was always ‘on the process.’ He loved his profession and generously shared his professional advice. It seemed as if there were no questions in the entire Universe to which he did not have the answer.

Sometimes he read lectures for the editorial team of Ukrayinska Pravda or organized seminars for us. He gently forced us to think critically and approach our job in the same manner. He motivated many of us with his sharp but almost always correct comments. He disliked weaklings and simpletons. However, he was not afraid to ask highly placed officials ‘childish’ yet difficult questions.

Sheremet became a TV star in Russia in the mid-1990s, where he was employed by ORT. He created a number of controversial documentary films and special projects.

He was a great friend of Boris Nemtsov. Sheremet officiated at Nemtsov’s funeral. He was pro-European. He physically detested dictatorship, tyranny and the inability to fight for one’s interests.

Being a Belarusian, he became one of the main critics of Lukashenka, got sentenced to two years and actually served three months in prison. After that jointly with Svetlana Kalinkina he co-authored a book on ‘Europe’s last dictator’ titled ‘Accidental President.’

He loved and believed in Ukraine. That is why he criticized our society. He supported the young Ukrainian reformers and befriended many of them.

On Friday, July 15 at a party in #Mediahub, he told those around him: "it is a unique time for Ukraine. The overly clever but dishonest 'sly-arse' Ukrainians are fighting earnest Ukrainians. We are still at the point of bifurcation." Pavel Sheremet loved to repeat: in a conflict between the parents and the children, children are always the winning side.

For our editorial staff, the death of Pal Heroyich is a real tragedy. Yet we know that Pavel Sheremet will always be with us and his faith will only make us stronger.