Zvyahilsky was born the son of a
Jewish civil servant in
Stalino on 20 February 1933. In 1956, he graduated from the Donetsk Industrial Institute as a mining engineer. After graduating, Zvyahilsky worked at mine #13 of the Soviet
trust company "Kuibyshevugol" (Kuibyshev Coal) as a chief assistant, later as a chief of a
coal precinct, chief engineer, and director. In 1972, he wrote a thesis, "Observation of regional technological schemes of mining fields in the development of thin inclined layers (in reference to the Donetsk-Makiivka region of
Donetsk basin)" (
Moscow Mining Institute), earning him the academical title of a
Candidate of Sciences. Later Zvyahilsky defended his doctorate on the subject "Geomechanical foundations of landslides of the earth surface above mines, which can be eliminated" (Institute of geotechnical mechanics of the
National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine). Coincidentally, in the early 1990s, Ukraine suffered from the miners' strikes that led to the
early presidential elections in 1994. From 1970 to 1979, Zvyahilsky worked at the Kuibyshev Mine Corporation of the Industrial Union "Donetskugol" (Donetsk Coal). In 1975, he was appointed a director of the company. From 1979 through 1992, Zvyahilsky was a director of the
Zasyadko coal mine of the Industrial Union "Donetskugol". The mine, known for its chronic accidents, became particularly famous in 2007 for the most deadly
disaster in the mining history of Ukraine. In March 1990, as a member of the
Communist Party of the Soviet Union, Zvyahilsky was elected to the
Parliament of Ukraine from the 112th electoral district. In November 1992, he was appointed the city council and executive committee chairman. In June 1993, Zvyahilsky was appointed to the Kuchma's Cabinet as the
first vice-prime minister. Being the first vice-prime minister in the Cabinet of Kuchma, he served as an acting prime minister from 22 September 1993 after
Leonid Kuchma was elected the
president of Ukraine. Zvyahilsky was the longest-serving prime minister without being officially appointed to the role. Zvyahilsky kept the appointment until
Vitaliy Masol was confirmed as the
prime minister of Ukraine in June 1994. In March 1994, now as an independent, Zvyahilsky was elected to the parliament from the 110th electoral district. In 1994, Zviahilskyi, being perceived as affiliated with
Leonid Kravchuk, was accused of having stolen some $20 million by Ukrainian president Kuchma during his term as acting prime minister, and he fled to
Israel in fear for his life. After some time Zviahilskyi returned to Ukraine in March 1997 and as a sitting member of
Verkhovna Rada missed most of the sessions of the parliament. In 1998, Zvyahilsky, once again as an independent, was elected now from the 43rd electoral district. In 2002, he was again elected to the parliament as a member of the
Party of Regions. Zvyahilsky became a member of the Verkhovna Rada (parliament), representing the ruling Party of Regions, and owner of the Zasyadko coal mine in
Donetsk. Being a member of Parliament, he had immunity from prosecution. In the
2014 parliamentary election, Zvyahilsky was re-elected into parliament again as an independent candidate in single-member districts number 45 situated in the
Kyiv Raion of Donetsk; this time with 72.73% of the votes. In his constituency, only a handful of polling stations were open due to the
war in Donbas; this led to Zvyahilsky winning a seat with only 1,450 votes. In parliament he joined the faction of
Opposition Bloc. Zvyahilsky did not participate in the
2019 Ukrainian parliamentary election for the first time since 1990 he did not run for parliamentary elections. He died on 6 November 2021, aged 88, from complications of
COVID-19 during the
COVID-19 pandemic in Ukraine. He also was co-president of the Jewish Conference of Ukraine. ==Awards==