Oleksandr Balaban suspended from work at Kyiv National University of Culture and Arts after accusations of harassment and humiliation of students
Kyiv • UNN
Oleksandr Balaban, the head of the Department of TV Journalism at KNUKiM, was dismissed from his position due to harassment allegations. Former students reported unethical behavior and humiliation on his part.
The head of the Department of TV Journalism and Acting at the Kyiv National University of Culture and Arts, Oleksandr Balaban, was suspended from his job after he was accused of harassing and humiliating students. This is reported by the Faculty of Cinema and Television of KNUKiM, UNN reports.
Details
The management of the Faculty of Cinema and Television cannot stay away from the information that has recently been spreading on social media. Since February 3, 2025, Oleksandr Ilyich Balaban has not been working at the university
The management of the faculty also made the following decisions:
- find out the accuracy of the circumstances described online;
- strengthen control over the observance of ethical standards by participants in the educational process;
- specialists of the social and psychological center to conduct a series of trainings and webinars for teachers and students.
The university website states that Balaban was the head of the Department of TV Journalism and Acting.
Context
A few days ago, actress and former student of Balaban's, Yelyzaveta Yakovyshyna, wrote on her Facebook page about the harassment and humiliation of students by Oleksandr Balaban.
In particular, according to her, Balaban said that "we will go to the LPR to play in the theater, because an actor should not care what kind of government is in power, the main thing is to play. And the Soviet government is the best.
Anti-cellulite massages for students in separate classrooms (because actresses shouldn't have cellulite, and he was also an expert masseur, and not only that). I didn't get those massages, but my classmates did. And no one realized that if a 60+ year old man touches your legs and above, it's not okay
She also notes that Balaban called female students whores and f***ers, and told them who should date and sleep with whom.
I myself personally listened to a lecture about how I am a very intelligent actress, and only an energetically strong man can be my sexual partner. And he must also be more than just an actor in terms of his status. I don't know what he was talking about or who he meant... I told him that sex with me is only about great love; he never had such conversations with me again, but after that I became a victim of his far unethical statements both as a student and as an actress
In the comments, Yelyzaveta was supported by other victims in Oleksandr Balaban's workshop.
In particular, user Yelyzaveta Pavlenko said that during a rehearsal, when she was standing on stage, the director (the director's name is not specified - ed.) came up to her, turned her back to the others, and took off her shirt without any warning.
At that moment, I felt completely defenseless and humiliated. I was wearing only my rehearsal uniform, a black T-shirt, because we were ordered to wear no bras or tops under the pretext that it would supposedly help us to reveal ourselves as actors. Another incident occurred after my performance at the initiation. For this, I was severely humiliated, called all kinds of obscene words, and told that I would never become an actress because I dared to go on stage without the permission of my "god-master"
In her commentary, Kateryna Polyakova also said that Balaban forced students to undress on stage.
If you refuse, you are not an actress. If you start to defend your unwillingness to strip down to your underwear, you are simply removed from the role and subjected to public humiliation with all the ensuing consequences. Massages from a gin-drinking master or whatever else were a regular occurrence. In front of everyone, or in closed audiences, so to speak, tête-à-tête. And it was all under the auspices of: "You're a tight little girl," or you've put on weight, or just for prevention. Disgusting and completely incomprehensible scenes with girls' nudity were the norm. We knew what the breasts of every classmate looked like, both those who taught us and those who were a year older. Literally, against our will
However, there were those who defended Balaban. In particular, Vladyslav Shklyaruk, a student of the Kyiv National University of Culture and Arts, said that "all my life I have not had a man to look up to, someone who could show me how to be worthy, not being afraid to face obstacles, but to overcome them and go on and have a real core, and Oleksandr Balaban has become that for me."
Darya Shevchuk, a graduate of the Kyiv National University of Culture and Arts, said that "Oleksandr Balaban is a man with a capital M, and I will not tolerate all this slander that is happening now.
Ukraine introduces penalties for online and offline sexual harassment11.01.25, 22:18 • 43800 views