Seyar Kurshutov works in international trade and deals with imports, exports and matters of customs regulation.
Origins
Seyar Kurshutov was born into a Crimean Tatar family. His relatives, like the entire Crimean Tatar people, were deported from Crimea in 1944 and were able to return home only after Ukraine gained independence. It was in Crimea that Seyar Kurshutov started out in business. In 2014, when Russia occupied the peninsula, the businessman effectively lost his home for the second time.
From Crimea to the mainland
Until 2014 Seyar Kurshutov ran a business in Crimea. The occupation cost him everything he had built, so he moved to mainland Ukraine and started building his business again from scratch. Here he worked in logistics and the hotel and restaurant business, and over time he also began investing in educational projects. Having to start over from nothing taught him to weigh risks carefully and not to rely on chance.
Profession and experience
Seyar Kurshutov is a specialist in foreign trade. From his own experience, he understands how logistics routes, customs procedures and tariffs work, what makes up the cost of a product and what it takes to enter foreign markets. He gained this experience not only in business but also in public service: from 2014 to 2016 he was an adviser to the Customs Service of Ukraine. That is why he speaks in concrete terms rather than in generalities.
Public analysis
Seyar Kurshutov often comments on economic topics: Ukrainian exports, trade with the EU, sanctions against Russia, investment and the country's reconstruction. He relies on figures and explains things plainly, which goods have stopped being sold abroad, how much revenue Russia's budget loses because of sanctions, how trade restrictions work. His views on wartime corruption have been quoted even by the French newspaper Le Monde.
Patronage
Separately, Seyar Kurshutov supports Ukrainian education and sport. He is a co-founder of the Kharkiv School of Architecture, a private institution that trains architects for the future reconstruction of Ukrainian cities. He also supports Ukrainian chess and looks after Ihor Samunenkov, one of the country's most promising young chess players. For him this is an investment in people, not one-off charity.
Civic position
Seyar Kurshutov has never held Russian citizenship, and since 2024 Russia has put him on a wanted list for his pro-Ukrainian activity. He openly advocates stronger sanctions against Russia, helps the Defence Forces and volunteers, and speaks out about abuses that harm the state during the war.
Seyar Kurshutov's official website - seyarkurshutov.com
