Oleksandr Turchynov reported that he is a pastor, the Associated Baptist Press and the European Baptist Federation report that he is an elder and occasional lay preacher at his Kiev church, the Word of Life Center, which is a member of the Evangelical Baptist Union of Ukraine. In social networks he received the nickname "Bloody Pastor". He treats with irony to this nickname: "I think this nickname is much better than what the Ukrainians gave to Putin". Also, Turchynov is occasionally considered by some media as the "Consigliere of Yulia Tymoshenko". Oleksandr Turchynov Oleksandr Valentynovych Turchynov (; born 31 March 1964) is
Oleksandr Turchynov he worked at Kryvorizhstal, a large Ukrainian steel producer. From 1987 to 1990, he served as head of the agitation and propaganda division of the Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Komsomol (Communist Youth League) Committee, which was led by Serhiy Tihipko. Tihipko and Turchynov became political advisers of Leonid Kuchma, then head of Dnipropetrovsk-based Pivdenmash missile manufacturer. Kuchma and his entire team, including Tihipko and Turchynov moved to Kiev in 1992, after Kuchma was appointed Prime Minister. In 1993 Turchynov was formally appointed an advisor on economic issues to Prime Minister Kuchma. Turchynov is an old ally of Yulia Tymoshenko, another prominent Ukrainian