Leonid Mykhaylovych Chernovetskyi ( uk, Леонід Михайлович Черновецький; born November 25, 1951 in

Kharkiv Kharkiv ( uk, wikt:Харків, Ха́рків, ), also known as Kharkov (russian: Харькoв, ), is the second-largest List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality in Ukraine.Ukrainian SSR The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic ( uk, Украї́нська Радя́нська Соціалісти́чна Респу́бліка, ; russian: Украи́нская Сове́тская Социалисти́ческая Респ ...

USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

) is a former

Mayor of Kyiv The Head of Kyiv City ( uk, Київський міський голова, translit=Kyivskyi miskyi holova), unofficially and more commonly the Mayor of Kyiv ( uk, Мер Києва, translit=Mer Kyieva), is a city official elected by popular ...

, the

capital Capital may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** List of national capital cities * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences * Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used f ...

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

, from 2006 until the summer of 2012. He was a successful businessman, founder and controlling stakeholder of the Pravex Group and

Pravex Bank Pravex Bank is a private commercial bank based in Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine. Founded by Leonid Chernovetsky, it was licensed by the National Bank of Ukraine in 1992. Pravex Bank was ranked the No.88 bank in terms of the size of retail loan p ...

, one of the largest banks in Ukraine. Since the appointment by

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Viktor Yanukovych Viktor Fedorovych Yanukovych ( uk, Віктор Федорович Янукович, ; ; born 9 July 1950) is a former politician who served as the fourth president of Ukraine from 2010 until he was removed from office in the Revolution of Di ...

Oleksandr Popov Oleksandr Pavlovych Popov ( uk, Олександр Павлович Попов; born 22 November 1960) is a Ukrainian politician, businessman, former head of the Kyiv City State Administration. Biography He graduated Tyumen Civil Engineering ...

as Head of Kyiv City State Administration on 16 November 2010, replacing Chernovetskyi, Chernovetskyi was deprived of any real decision-making role in Kyiv.Popov: Activity of city council and city head limited
''

Kyiv Post The ''Kyiv Post'' is the oldest English-language newspaper in Ukraine, founded in October 1995 by Jed Sunden. History American Jed Sunden founded the ''Kyiv Post'' weekly newspaper on Oct. 18, 1995 and later created KP Media for his holdings. ...

'' (February 1, 2011)Party of Regions leader: 'Pre-term mayoral elections in Kyiv are pointless'
''

'' (November 18, 2011) He tendered his resignation on 1 June 2012. After this resignation Chernovetsky and his family moved to the

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

n town

Kobuleti Kobuleti ( ka, ქობულეთი ) is a town in Adjara, western Georgia, situated on the eastern coast of the Black Sea. It is the seat of Kobuleti Municipality and a seaside resort, visited annually by Georgians and many former Soviet Unio ...

and he received

Georgian citizenship Georgian nationality law is the law governing the acquisition, transmission and loss of Georgian citizenship. Naturalization as a Georgian Anyone who has stayed in Georgia for a total period of ten years may apply for Georgian nationality. The ...

. eorgia not to extradite ex-mayor of Kyiv Chernovetsky to Ukraine https://www.kyivpost.com/ukraine-politics/georgia-not-extradite-ex-mayor-kyiv-chernovetsky-ukraine.html ''

'' (26 July 2017)

Early life

Chernovetskyi quit school when he was 14 and went to work as a fitter at an aviation factory, but soon returned to resume his education, graduating from the Kharkiv public school #4. From 1970 until 1972, Chernovetsky served his military obligations. In 1977, he graduated from the Kharkiv Law School with specialization in

jurisprudence Jurisprudence, or legal theory, is the theoretical study of the propriety of law. Scholars of jurisprudence seek to explain the nature of law in its most general form and they also seek to achieve a deeper understanding of legal reasoning a ...

. He worked as the senior detective in the prosecutor's office of

Kyiv Oblast Kyiv Oblast ( uk, Ки́ївська о́бласть, translit=Kyïvska oblast), also called Kyivshchyna ( uk, Ки́ївщина), is an oblast (province) in central and northern Ukraine. It surrounds, but does not include, the city of Kyiv, w ...

. In 1981, he returned to Kharkiv Law School attending

aspirantura Candidate of Sciences (russian: кандидат наук, translit=kandidat nauk) is the first of two doctoral level scientific degrees in Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States. It is formally classified as UNESCO's International Stan ...

and obtained his

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''l ...

in 1984 with a dissertation about ''Methods of investigation of plunders conducted by officials''. Until 1989 he was a teacher at

Kyiv University Kyiv University or Shevchenko University or officially the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv ( uk, Київський національний університет імені Тараса Шевченка), colloquially known as KNU ...

Career

Soon after

perestroika ''Perestroika'' (; russian: links=no, перестройка, p=pʲɪrʲɪˈstrojkə, a=ru-perestroika.ogg) was a political movement for reform within the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) during the late 1980s widely associated wit ...

, he went into private business, becoming one of the earliest big businesspeople in Kyiv. He founded the Pravex Group ( uk, Правекс, an abbreviated from "Law, Economics and Sociology"). Later the banking division of the Pravex Group rose into the

- one of the largest banks in Ukraine, possessing a dense network of offices in Kyiv and other regions. In 2001, Chernovestkyi and his bank founded the "

Kyiv Bank Union The Ukrainian Credit-Banking Union ( uk, Український кредитно-банківський союз, translit=Ukrainskyi kredytno-bankivskyi soyuz) is a banking association created as the ''Kyiv Banking Union'' in 1994 by twenty commerc ...

" banking association. Pravex Bank was sold in 2008 to Banca Intesa São Paulo for 509 million euros. Chernovetskyi has acknowledged giving millions in bribes during his days as a businessman. In 2012, Leonid Chernovetskiy founded the Chernovetskyi Investment Group, a venture capital group based in Kyiv. In 2015, the Chernovetskyi Investment Group made an investment of $1 million into Busfor, a Moscow-based online tour company. On August 18, 2008 President

Victor Yushchenko Viktor Andriyovych Yushchenko ( uk, Віктор Андрійович Ющенко, ; born 23 February 1954) is a Ukrainian politician who was the third president of Ukraine from 23 January 2005 to 25 February 2010. As an informal leader of th ...

granted him the Order of Yaroslav the Wise, though it was harshly opposed by Prime Minister

Yulia Tymoshenko Yulia Volodymyrivna Tymoshenko ( uk, Юлія Володимирівна Тимошенко, ; Hrihyan ();Embassy of God, an

evangelical church Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being " born again", in which an individual exper ...

founded by Nigerian immigrant Sunday Adelaja. He is also a longtime

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the Public good (economics), public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private goo ...

of Kyiv, caring for the city's old and poor. In January 2009 Chernovitskyi bought

FC Arsenal Kyiv Football Club Arsenal Kyiv () is a Ukrainian football club based in Kyiv. In 2019, the club's professional team was dissolved, but its junior teams continue to compete in city competitions. The club claims to be a successor of Kyiv Arsenal fac ...

for 1

Hryvnia The or ( ; uk, гривня , : ''hrn''; sign: ₴; code: UAH) has been the national currency of Ukraine since 2 September 1996. The hryvnia is divided into 100 . It is named after a measure of weight used in medieval Kievan Rus'. Name Etym ...

from Ukrainian businessman

Vadim Rabinovich Vadim Zinovyevich Rabinovichrussian: Вади́м Зино́вьевич Рабино́вич he, ודים רבינוביץ' (born 4 August 1953) is an Israeli and formerly Ukrainian oligarch and Jewish community leader. He is a former leader ...

. In February 2009 he released a

compact disc The compact disc (CD) is a Digital media, digital optical disc data storage format that was co-developed by Philips and Sony to store and play digital audio recordings. In August 1982, the first compact disc was manufactured. It was then rele ...

with "popular songs of the 1980s" sung by him. In 2009 he became the man of the year according to Korrespondent magazine.http://chernovetskiy.com.ua/news/leonid-chernoveckiy-%E2%80%93-lichnost-goda-po-versii-zhurnala-korrespondent/ Официальный сайт Черновецкого On January 2, 2013 Leonid Chernovetskiy founded Chernovetskyi Investment Group, investment potential of which exceeds 750 million dollars.Chernovetskyi Investment Group
/ref> He is currently Honorary President of Chernovetskyi Investment Group. Chernovetskyi was nicknamed "Cosmos" ( uk, Космос) after he publicly announced that he intends to fly in outer space with his cat. However, that name got stuck with him later due to his non-ordinary administrative and political decisions and announcements that have been viewed as "bizarre".Cartoon
''

'' (June 4, 2010) He has sung at rallies and offered to auction off his kisses. That behavior prompted some officials to call for a medical examination into whether he is mentally healthy to govern the city. In response, Chernovetsky posed on March 18, 2009 in tight swimming trunks in front of scores of reporters to try to show he was both physically and mentally fit. Chernovestkyi was the subject of several personal and political attacks when he took office as mayor of Kyiv. Some were critical about his lack of experience and his authoritarianism. Others considered him off-balance or speculated that he has drug or alcohol problems. However, none of these accusations have been proven to date.

Controversies

Pravex Bank, one of the largest retail banks of Ukraine formerly controlled by Chernovestkyi and his family, was rumoured to submit its new employees to a polygraph test and to use coercive methods to recover impaired loans. However, the Bank came out to be one of the most profitable financial institutions in Ukraine despite strong competition from foreign-owned banks. In 2003, Chernovestkyi made headlines for his links to the deaths of two pedestrians who had died on separate occasions after being run over at high speed by cars linked to Chernovetsky on the road leading to his mansion in the elite Koncha Zaspa residential neighborhood. Chernovetsky, who is a collector of expensive souped-up automobiles, was behind the wheel in the second incident; his wife was a passenger in the first. Neither Chernovetsky nor his driver has been found guilty of any wrongdoing in connection with the incidents. On February 16, 2010 the Kyiv city administration denied reports that Chernovetskyi's daughter Khrystyna Chernovetska was robbed in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

on February 15, 2010 after foreign media had reported that Chernovetska had

€ The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone and unilaterally adopted by Kosovo and Montenegro. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists ...

4.5 million worth of jewels stolen in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. In April 2011, Interpol issued an international arrest warrant for Chernovetskyi's son-in-law Viacheslav Suprunenko, a member of the Kyiv city council's Chernovetskyi Bloc faction. According to ''

'', he was arrested in Italy in May 2011. Chernovetskyi's son, Stepan was arrested in Barcelona in July 2016 on charges of money laundering and fraud despite his father's denials and threats of legal action against Spanish authorities. Leonid Chernovetskyi released a statement on his Facebook page announcing the release of his son in August 2016.

Political career

Chernovetskyi is the leader of the

Christian Liberal Party of Ukraine Christian Liberal party of Ukraine is a political party in Ukraine. The party says that it is guided by the values of Christianity and the principles of Western European democracy: parliamentarism, the market economy, free labour and powerful s ...

. He joined the party in 1996 and was elected to the Ukrainian Parliament, the

Verkhovna Rada The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine ( uk, Верхо́вна Ра́да Украї́ни, translit=, Verkhovna Rada Ukrainy, translation=Supreme Council of Ukraine, Ukrainian abbreviation ''ВРУ''), often simply Verkhovna Rada or just Rada, is the ...

, representing one of Kyiv's constituencies. He was reelected in 1998 and 2002. During his last term (2002–2006) he was a member of the Committee of National Budget and head of the Committee of a Control of Budget Spending. He also was a member of the Our Ukraine fraction in Parliament. In 1998-1999 Chernovestkyi was a co-chair, and in 1999-2000 the chair of the "For Beautiful Ukraine" party. From 1997 to 2001 he was a member of the Economic Advisory Council to the

President of Ukraine The president of Ukraine ( uk, Президент України, Prezydent Ukrainy) is the head of state of Ukraine. The president represents the nation in international relations, administers the foreign political activity of the state, condu ...

. While being a member of Verhovna Rada Leonid Chernovetskyi strongly supported people of Kyiv in struggle for their rights against officials of Kyiv City State Administration. During this time his office helped thousands of Kyiv citizens. In some cases he personally sought positive resolutions. In 2003, he initiated the adoption of the law "On the protection of public morals", which govern the basic directions of state regulation of information products circulation which affect negatively on public morality. The law also imposed prohibition on the production and circulation of pornographic nature objects.http://chernovetskiy.com.ua/news/leonid-chernoveckij-byl-avtorom-pervogo-ukrainskogo-zakona-o-zashhite-obshhestvennoj-morali/ Официальный сайт ;2004 presidential elections Chernovestkyi was a self-nominated candidate in the 2004 presidential election, believed to be one of the "technical candidates" whose true mission was to assist

Viktor Yushchenko Viktor Andriyovych Yushchenko ( uk, Віктор Андрійович Ющенко, ; born 23 February 1954) is a Ukrainian politician who was the third president of Ukraine from 23 January 2005 to 25 February 2010. As an informal leader of th ...

's struggle for the presidency by placing additional representatives in electoral commissions. ;2006 parliamentary and mayor elections According to the Kyiv city election commission, Chernovetskyi garnered 32 percent of the vote to win the election for mayor of Kyiv.

Vitali Klitschko Vitali Volodymyrovych Klitschko (; uk, Віта́лій Володи́мирович Кличко́ ; born 19 July 1971) is a Ukrainian politician and former professional boxer who serves as mayor of Kyiv Oleksandr Omelchenko Oleksandr Oleksandrovych Omelchenko ( uk, Олександр Олександрович Омельченко; 9 August 1938 – 25 November 2021) was a Ukrainian politician who served as mayor of Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, first elected in 1 ...

placed third with 21 percent. Opponents say Chernovetskyi won because of a dirty campaign marred by bribing impoverished elderly voters with food; Chernovetsky has denied this. Chernovetskyi was also elected to the

in the list of the Our Ukraine Bloc, but had to reject the parliamentary seat. In first year after the election victory Chernovetskyi increased Kyiv budget in 5 timeshttp://chernovetskiy.com.ua/news/intervyu-l-chernoveckogo-izdaniyu-segodnya-chast-1/ Официальный сайт Leonid Chernovetskyi was developing anti-alcohol and anti-tobacco programs during time when he was mayor.http://chernovetskiy.com.ua/news/centralnye-ulicy-osvobodyat-ot-vrednyx-privychek/ Официальный сайт ;2008 snap Kyiv local election and political unrest Leonid Chernovetskyi won another term as Mayor of Kyiv with 38% of the vote in the May 25, 2008 snap local election, called on by the Verkhovna Rada in March 2008. Former deputy head of Leonid Chernovetsky's Block Alla Shlapak stated opinion, that because of humanitarian programs for pensioners, teachers, medics and other groups of society, Chernoverskiy can be considered the best mayor of Kyiv. While having a solid amount of money he always paid attention to socially unprotected people and outcasts. In 2010 he founded a charitable service “Social patrol”, which was delivering warm clothes, food, medical assistance and advising to homeless people. Официальный сайт In 12 of April 2012, in Georgia L. Chernovetskiy established charitable fund “Social partnership”. The main projects of Social Partnership fund are:“Home care” (providing medicaments and medical assistance to those who are in need); “Family-type orphanage”; “Large family support”; “Gathering of clothes” (system for receiving and redistribution of clothes for people in need); “Food collecting program” (gathering of food for poor people). After the resignation from post of mayor he continued engage in charity. According to his own statement ex-mayor spends not less than 1 million dollars to charity per year. In September 2013 he has opened an orphanage in Georgia. Leonid Chernoverskiy belongs to those politics, who are active users of social networks. His Facebook page is updated regularly. Ex-mayor often chats with other users, gives business advice and expresses his opinion on current events. Furthermore, Chernovetskiy periodically organizes various online contests for generating ideas to resolve crisis in Ukraine. Authors of the best ideas receive solid cash rewards from the ex-mayor. Chernoverskiy did not participate in the

2014 Ukrainian parliamentary election Snap elections to the Verkhovna Rada took place on 26 October 2014. Petro Poroshenko, the President of Ukraine, had pressed for early parliamentary elections since his victory in the presidential election in May.Vitaliy Klychko Bloc stated it will apply to the Verkhovna Rada, the

Cabinet of Ministers A cabinet is a body of high-ranking state officials, typically consisting of the executive branch's top leaders. Members of a cabinet are usually called cabinet ministers or secretaries. The function of a cabinet varies: in some countrie ...

, the

National Security and Defense Council The National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine (NSDC; uk, Рада національної безпеки і оборони України, RNBO or RNBOU) is the coordinating state body of the executive power under the President of Ukrai ...

, and the Kyiv prosecutor's office with a request to take into consideration the unlawfulness of Kyiv Mayor Leonid Chernovetskyi actions and to call early mayoral elections in the city. Earlier On December 12, 2008

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Yulia Tymoshenko Yulia Volodymyrivna Tymoshenko ( uk, Юлія Володимирівна Тимошенко, ; Hrihyan ();Tymoshenko Confident That Early Mayoral Elections Will Be Repeated In Kyiv
,

Ukrainian News Agency The Ukrainian News Agency ( uk, Інформаційне агентство "Українські Новини"; ''Informatsiyne ahentstvo "Ukrayins'ki Novyny"'') is a Kyiv-based Ukrainian news agency. It produces and provides political, business ...

(December 12, 2008) This was based on Tymoshenko's disapprove of the handling of Chernovetskyi of the local energy crises of December 2008 when the Kyivenergo utility company began cutting the supply of hot water to about 5,000 homes in Kyiv because of the Kyiv municipal administration's failure to compensate the company for the difference between the tariffs charged by Kyivenerho and the actual cost of its services. Tymoshenko accuses Leonid Chernovetskyi of using money from the municipal budget to finance his election campaign (and so there were insufficient funds to pay Kyivenerho). In May 2008, preliminary results showed Leonid Chernovetsky as clear leader ahead of Aleksandr Turchinov, a member of Ukraine Prime Minister Yulia Timoshenko's Bloc and Vitaly Klychko. Chernovetskyi had become unpopular among the residents of Kyiv.Poll: 80 percent of Kyivans want mayor to resign
''

'' (26 March 2009) On March 13, 2009 a Verkhovna Rada temporary commission on the issues of investigating violations of legislation by the officials of the Kyiv city state administration and the Kyiv city council came to the conclusion that it was necessary to examine the mental and physical state of Chernovetskyi, however, the procedure could be performed against his will only under a court ruling. in May 2009, Klychko threatened to sue Chernovetsky for claims he demanded two hectares of land on which to erect a boxing club. In 2011, the feud continued with Klychko again with allegations that Chernovetsky was responsible for the theft of 70 billion hryvni. Chernovetsy responded with intent to counter sue. ;Yanukovych presidency Chernovetskyi announced in March 2009 he would participate in the 2010 Ukrainian presidential election. But did not do so. A March 2010 poll indicated that a large majority of Kyiv residents (more than 89%) were unhappy with his work and would like the mayor to resign without delays (80%). On November 15, 2010

dismissed Leonid Chernovetskyi from the post of Head of the Kyiv's State Administration and appointed

to this post. Popov is seen as Chernovetsky's replacement since he was not elected but appointed by President Viktor Yanukovich. The appointment was made possible by the Ukraine's national parliament which had amended the law on “the capital of Ukraine – hero city of Kyiv” on September 7, 2010 making it possible for the President to appoint the chairman of the city administration at his discretion (before the amendments the elected Kyiv mayor was automatically appointed head of the city administration). Another presidential decree relieved Chernovitsky of the office "head of the Kyiv State Administration", while still preserving the post of Kyiv mayor.Political Risks and Political Stability in Ukraine
UCIPR (October 2010) Popov stated early 2011 "we've definitely limited the activity of the

city council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...

and the mayor to some extent". In November 2010

Mykola Azarov Mykola Yanovych Azarov ( uk, Мико́ла Я́нович Аза́ров, ; né Pakhlo; Cyrillic: Пахло; born 17 December 1947) is a Ukrainian politician who was the Prime Minister of Ukraine from 11 March 2010 to 27 January 2014. He was t ...

compared Chernovetsky to the

Queen of the United Kingdom The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the constitutional form of government by which a hereditary sovereign reigns as the head of state of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies (the Bailiw ...

, saying he had a title but no official decision-making role.#14 Richest: Leonid Chernovetsky, 59
''

'' (December 17, 2010) The Azarov Government then opened several investigations into the allegedly illegal sale of city land and property by Chernovetsky's top officials and then sales of those lands to friends and their companies. By then Chernovetsky was not to be seen in Kyiv and rumors appeared he was in "quasi-retirement" in

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

, was seeking

political asylum The right of asylum (sometimes called right of political asylum; ) is an ancient juridical concept, under which people persecuted by their own rulers might be protected by another sovereign authority, like a second country or another enti ...

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

or that he had secretly tendered his resignation. In a pressconference on January 28, 2011

Azarov asked Popov “to find by all means” Chernovetsky "to bring him back to the work". According to

UNIAN The UNIAN or Ukrainian Independent Information Agency of News ( uk, Українське Незалежне Інформаційне Агентство Новин, УНІАН, translit=Ukrayins'ke Nezalezhne Informatsiyne Ahentstvo Novyn) is a ...

Azarov "could not suppress a laugh" when asked about Chernovetsky.Azarov asks “to find Chernovetskyi by all means”

Ukrainian Independent Information Agency The UNIAN or Ukrainian Independent Information Agency of News ( uk, Українське Незалежне Інформаційне Агентство Новин, УНІАН, translit=Ukrayins'ke Nezalezhne Informatsiyne Ahentstvo Novyn) is a ...

(January 28, 2011) Popov has stated he last met with the mayor toward the end of 2010. Chernovetsky's spokeswoman Marta Hrymska told ''

The Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...

'' on 8 February 2011 in a

phone text message Short Message/Messaging Service, commonly abbreviated as SMS, is a text messaging service component of most telephone, Internet and mobile device systems. It uses standardized communication protocols that let mobile devices exchange short text ...

that the mayor resumed duties after a vacation in

. Commentators suggested that by failing to fulfill his duties, Chernovetsky was trying to force President Yanukovich to stop the investigations into his close aides and that Yanukovych was reluctant to see Chernovetsky go just yet and share power with a new mayor, because his protégé Popov, was unlikely to get elected. On February 24, 2011 Chernovetskyi did attend a meeting of the

Kyiv City Council Kyiv City Council ( uk, Київська міська рада, translit=Kyivska miska rada), also known as Kyivrada ( uk, Київрада), is the city council of Kyiv municipality, the highest representative body of the city community. The me ...

. On 3 August 2011 it was reported that Chernovetskyi has secretly left Ukraine and moved to Israel. According to

Agence France Press Agence France-Presse (AFP) is a French international news agency headquartered in Paris, France. Founded in 1835 as Havas, it is the world's oldest news agency. AFP has regional headquarters in Nicosia, Montevideo, Hong Kong and Washington, D.C ...

, he was discovered by a crew of Ukrainian television channel 1+1 in an apartment in Tel Aviv. In a brief statement, Chernovetskyi, who was surprised they had found him, called it "an unofficial holiday". It had been reported earlier, that he has held Israeli citizenship since 1994, having run for president and for Kyiv mayor while holding dual Israeli and Ukrainian citizenships in violation of Ukrainian law, which does not allow its citizens to hold dual citizenship. In February 2012 Chernovetskyi stated he will not run for re-election.Chernovetsky says he will no longer run for Kyiv mayor
''

'' (16 February 2012) Chernovetsky tendered his resignation on 1 June 2012.Hereha sends petition to parliament on holding of early mayoral election in Kyiv
''

'' (19 July 2012) The City Council accepted the early termination of office on 12 July 2012. The City Council decided the same day that

Halyna Hereha Halyna Fedorivna Hereha ( uk, Галина Федорівна Герега; born 9 August 1959) is a Ukrainian businesswoman and politician who served as acting mayor of Kyiv from 2012 to 2014. Hereha also was a Deputy Mayor and Secretary of t ...

would temporarily act as the mayor of the capital city. Kyiv then did not have an elected mayor until mayor

Vitali Klitschko Vitali Volodymyrovych Klitschko (; uk, Віта́лій Володи́мирович Кличко́ ; born 19 July 1971) is a Ukrainian politician and former professional boxer who serves as mayor of Kyiv Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

n town

and he has

Interesting Facts

* In 2008 Chernovetskiy opened, at its own expense, monument to Gergiy Gongadze and other journalists who died for freedom of speech[В 2008 году за собственные средства открыл в Киеве памятник Георгию Гонгадзе и журналистам, погибшим за свободу слова] * In 2009 Chernovetskyi published his second and third book “How to become a millionaire” and “History of success” * It is noteworthy that Chernovetskiy's second book was inspired by his cat Yasha. * At the same time ex-mayor several times stated that image of “immoral politic with mental disorders” was artificially created by mass media that belongs to his opponents oligarchs. * Against all accusations in immorality from his political adversaries Leonid Chernovetskyi few times was awarded orders for revival of spirituality and protection of moral values * In 2009 Kharkiv publishing house "Folio", in the series “Famous Ukrainians” published a book about Leonid Chernovetskiy. * In 2017 the ex-mayor of Kyiv Leonid Chernovetsky published a new book " The Crazy Story". Presenting his autobiography Chernovetsky appealed to remembrances and summed up his life. " I have lived an unusual full life! Life complete of victories and disappointments, friendship and betrayal. But the main thing I'm proud of: I have never asked anyone for anything, I did what I thought was fair, I did not cooperate with any power or bandits, and I have achieved everything that any simple person can only dream about, especially growing up without a father and without any material support from the side, " - he said. * On July 1, 2011 Kyiv Shevchenko district court upheld in full the claim for the protection of honor and dignity of Kyiv Mayor Leonid Chernovetskiy to the publishing house "Economics" and journalist Fеdor Orishuk, the author of the investigation material "The Tithes of the Chernovetskiy Team", published in the newspaper "Delo" (No.10) from April 8–14, 2011. The court considered the information set out in the article that "every tenth object in Kyiv over the past four years has been sold through "converting centers" to companies controlled by "the young team" of Chernovetskiy Leonid Mikhailovich," is unreliable. Commenting on the adopted decision, the plaintiff's counsel stated that the defendants could not provide an evidence base in support of their false, unsubstantiated allegations against Leonid Chernovetskiy and his team. In addition, the lawyer denied the mayor's involvement in the sale of capital objects through the converting centers. * On June 1, 2012 Pechersk court of Kyiv obliged Vitali Klitschko, the leader of the same-name faction in the Kyiv City Council, to refute unreliable information from his pre-election article "Vitali Klitschko: I will run for mayor of Kyiv, And I have nothing to negotiate with Bankova". In the article published in the newspaper and on the website of the "Mirror of the Week", Klitschko claimed that "the Mayor Chernovetskiy, who stole $ 70 billion, travels abroad." According to Leonid Chernovetskiy, by the decision the court sent a clear signal to politicians that they should be responsible for their words and respect their voters, and not deceive them in the pursuit of the rating. * On July 11, 2017 Pechersk district court of Kyiv admitted unreliable and discrediting honor, dignity and business reputation of Leonid Chernovetskiy individual comments of Karl Volokh in the article "Chernovetskiy will not buy the Georgian parliament for buckwheat" (from August 30, 2016) on the site http://politeka.net and ordered the last one to pay the plaintiff one thousand UAH of compensation for moral reparations. As stated in the court's decision, the speech, in particular, is about the phrases: "... the former head of Kyiv is the marauder number one in Ukraine" and "Georgia is interested in Chernovetskiy Leonid Mikhailovich as a person who hands out large bribes". In April, 2018, the information portal "Informant" published a misinformation about Leonid Mikhailovich Chernovetskiy: "In 2002, Chernovetskiy from the stage called on сongregation to sell their apartments and pass money to the pastor to finance the election campaigns of the representatives of the sect. During the proceedings it was revealed that Leonid Mikhailovich never appealed to сongregation either or anyone else to "sell apartments" and "fund election campaigns" of anyone. Between the two sides an agreement was concluded on the settlement of the defamation dispute. In pursuance of the agreement, the "Informant" refuted these inaccurate facts, posted relevant refutation and apologized to Leonid Chernovetskiy for distributing unconfirmed and inappropriate information.

Honours and awards

* The order of "St. Michael the Archangel" (24 July 2004) – h.c. of spirituality revival in Ukraine * Honor of the Supreme Court of Ukraine "For fidelity to the law" (5 May 2006) * Medal of the Prosecutors Association "For cooperation in approving the law" (26 November 2009) * "The order for Humanity and Mercy" of St. Mary's Foundation - charitable activity, a significant contribution to the revival of spirituality and moral values (23 June 2006) *

Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise The Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise ( uk, Орден князя Ярослава Мудрого) is an award of Ukraine. It is awarded for distinguished services to the state and people of the Ukrainian nation in the field of state building, ...

, 5th class (19 August 2008) - for his significant contribution to the socio-economic and cultural development of the Ukrainian state, significant work achievements and on the occasion of the 17th anniversary of Independence of Ukraine *

Order of Merit The Order of Merit (french: link=no, Ordre du Mérite) is an order of merit for the Commonwealth realms, recognising distinguished service in the armed forces, science, art, literature, or for the promotion of culture. Established in 1902 by K ...

, 3rd class (23 August 2005) - for his significant contribution to the socio-economic, scientific and cultural development of Ukraine, significant work achievements and active citizenship activities * Honoured Lawyer of Ukraine (4 October 1997) - for outstanding contribution to strengthening the rule of law, professionalism * Commander of the

Order of the Three Stars Order of the Three Stars ( lv, Triju Zvaigžņu ordenis) is the highest civilian order awarded for meritorious service to Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvija ...

(Latvia, 19 June 2008) * Order of Honour (Georgia, 2007)

References

External links

Personal website

Leonid Chernovetsky's Block
*

Ukrayinska Pravda ''Ukrainska Pravda'' ( uk, Українська правда, lit=Ukrainian Truth) is a Ukrainian online newspaper founded by Georgiy Gongadze on 16 April 2000 (the day of the Ukrainian constitutional referendum). Published mainly in Ukraini ...

, March 3, 2006 {{DEFAULTSORT:Chernovetskyi, Leonid 1951 births Living people Businesspeople from Kharkiv Politicians from Kharkiv Mayors of Kyiv Governors of Kyiv Second convocation members of the Verkhovna Rada Third convocation members of the Verkhovna Rada Fourth convocation members of the Verkhovna Rada Christian Liberal Party of Ukraine politicians Candidates in the 2004 Ukrainian presidential election Recipients of the Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise, 5th class Recipients of the Order of Merit (Ukraine), 3rd class Ukrainian Protestants Georgian people of Ukrainian descent Naturalized citizens of Georgia (country) 20th-century Ukrainian politicians 20th-century Ukrainian businesspeople 21st-century Ukrainian politicians 21st-century Ukrainian businesspeople Jewish Ukrainian politicians